Sharon Herald issue August 24, 2014 A sea of medals At 76, Ed McCullough still setting records after a half-century of competitive swimming Sharon-It’s not the number of years left in a life; rather, the life left in those years…and the number of miles and laps too. Ed McCullough personifies that philosophy. While the ocean’s changing tides are affected by the lunar tables, consider this from McCullough’s mileage chart: The earth and moon are separated by 238,860 miles-and perhaps that’s a reach, a goal that may not apply. But consider the Atlantic Ocean-the world’s 2nd largest, encompassing approximately 22 percent of planet Earth-is 3,450 nautical miles in its southern region. Since he began competitively swimming at then-Slippery Rock State College, McCullough has maneuvered more than 15,000 miles during his almost daily 500-1000-yard workouts. Recently, the Mercer County Hall of Famer dominated the 24thannual Pennsylvania Senior Games in Harrisburg. At Friendship Community Center, McCullough competed in the 75-79 age group, garnering gold medals in 5 events, establishing state standards in 4, en route to earning the “Swimmer of the Year: award. The Sharon standout swept the 50-and 100yard breaststroke events in 42 seconds flat and 1:42, respectively, as well as the 50-and 100 yard backstroke competition in 43.25 and 15.30-all of which are statewide standards for his age group. Additionally, he won the 200 yard backstroke (3:02). McCullough has maintained the trio of backstroke marks dating back to when he competed in the 60-65 and 70-74 age classes. Four years ago at the Keystone State Games in Your McCullough forged a fistful of gold medals in the aforementioned events, while the aforementioned events, while setting state standards for his age class in the 50 breast (43.26) and 50-(40.26) and 100 (1:30) backstroke. Ed McCullough by the Numbers 50+ Years of competitive swimming 15,000+ Miles of water traversed, usually in 25-yard increments 10 AAU-sanctioned “best”times in national competition in the 40-44 age group, earning him a berth on the “Elite AAU National Top 10 Team.” 10 Medals (6 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronz) while competing as a collegian during the 1959-60, and ’60-61 seasons. 156 Gold medals or plaques earned during his competitive career on the state and national levels
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 18:30:16 +0000
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