Despite a couple days of oppressive heat at the outdoor Mt. Hood Community College pool in Gresham, Ore., this year’s U.S. Masters Swimming Summer National Championship was one of the best in many years. Thirteen athletes broke 35 individual world records, with several others leaving the meet with new national marks. And, befitting an Olympic year, the roster was filled with Olympians who were either continuing their successes in the pool or re-entering the sport after a few years away.

The year 2008 was the best of times for Speedo, and the worst of times for just about every other competition swimwear manufacturer on the planet. In February of that year, Speedo debuted a revolutionary new bathing suit, its now-iconic LZR Racer, a 50-50 blend of nylon and polyurethane that completely changed the swimming game. Swimmers wearing the revolutionary suit churned through records, and other companies rushed to copy or improve upon the technology. 

Masters swimmers returned to the Greensboro Aquatic Center for another impressive event, the Nationwide USMS Spring National Championship, setting 40 individual and 15 relay records across the four-day meet. That’s nine more records than were set in the same pool at the 2012 meet.