A lifelong swimmer who is still competing at the age of 96 has become an inspiration for not allowing her age to stop her from taking home gold.
Native New Yorker Judith “Judy” Young was born in Brooklyn. She has two sons, aged 68 and 70, and today she lives in an independent senior community in Jamestown. She is an unusual resident; up to three days a week she can be found at her local YMCA in a one-piece and goggles with the masters swim team, training for her next competition.
“Swimming is definitely responsible for my good health,” Judy told The Epoch Times. “I can only inspire others by their seeing how active I am able to be.”
A typical day for Judy entails walking, reading, Sudoku puzzles or social bridge games, and lunch or dinner with friends. Judy does not follow a strict diet; she eats lots of fruits and veggies and believes in “a little of everything.” She has outlived her father by 24 years and her mother by 14, and is unsure what role genes have to play in her health but swears by lifestyle choices.
“The only tip I can give is: stay active,” she said. “Almost anyone can walk, which is one of the best ways and easiest ways to exercise. Read and play games for mental activity ... I keep moving, walk a lot, do some recumbent stationary bike and recumbent stepper, and swim at the Jamestown YMCA pool.”
Judy routinely competes in 50-, 100-, and 200-yard backstroke, plus 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-yard freestyle swim races in the 95 to 99 age category. At the 2022 Senior Games meet in Cortland, New York, she placed first six times. At the 2022 YMCA Masters Nationals at the Rosen Aquatic Center in Orlando, Florida, she set three records and broke three records out of seven races swum.
She has since qualified to swim at the Senior Games National in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in the summer of 2023. Judy is always supported by her sons, David and Jim, and has earned a loyal, excitable fanbase at the YMCA.
Her coach and Jets swim team assistant aquatics director, Maria Roehmholdt, told The Epoch Times that she first met Judy through her daughter-in-law, Martha, and finds the nonagenarian “difficult to put into words.”
Maria said: “I had just lost my grandmother and Judy reminded me of her. I am not sure why; other than the fierce love of life and dominant personality, they are polar opposites. That was 15 years ago. Since then, Judy has become a friend, a mentor, and a model of who I want to be when I grow up. I am 49!”
Judy has been known to rally the kids at the YMCA, teaching swimmers as young as four and five years old the importance of dedication and hard work, and how to be a good teammate. She always cheers on the “older, more seasoned Jets,” and trained and competed virtually during the pandemic.
When the next generation of Jets recently met the 96-year-old in person, they coined a mantra: “Finish like Judy!”
Recalling her childhood, Judy said: “I was an active child, came home from school and played outside, played ball games in empty lots where houses had not yet been built, or in the street. In summers, I rode a bike or walked to the bay where we spent four hours a day. Sleigh rides in winter on street hills; the cars knew to look for us. Small town life!”
Judy started swimming young but didn’t compete until she got her first opportunity in 1987. She was already in her sixties. During her working life, Judy was a secretary in the sales and advertising sector, a secretary for her church, and a secretary for the Jamestown YMCA’s executive director in the eighties.
She has also been a “den mother” for the Boy Scouts, a volunteer at the YMCA’s Camp Onyahsa summer camp, and a member of the Mozart Club for women interested in music. Besides swimming, people bring the greatest joy to Judy’s life.
“I am interested in other people and the world around me,” Judy said. “Things that make me happiest are that I have so many younger friends who are willing to do things with me, and that I am still able to participate in many activities. The hardest part of getting older is accepting that no matter how well I am, there are still limitations.
“The best thing? I can still see what my boys and grandchild are doing, and spend quality time with them. Also, the fun times I still have with new people I have met in my community, and of course, my wonderful swim mates.”
Judy’s goal for 2023 is to regain her strength after two surgeries in the summer of 2022. She is “doing well,” and looking ahead to the summer Senior Games. Maria and the Jets have dedicated their 2023 team T-shirt to Judy, and “made a big deal” of surprising her and taking a team picture for the archives.
For being a true inspiration, Judy has been nominated for a spot in the Chautauqua County Hall of Fame by Maria and her masters teammates.
“We did not need to ask for letters of recommendation; people were falling over themselves to be part of this,” Maria said. “She has touched so many lives here at the Y. I know I am a better person for knowing Judy, and I am honored and blessed to call her my friend.”
