76-year-old Virginia woman nationally ranked in US Masters Swimming

A Christiansburg woman is the fastest swimmer in the country for her age after winning the 2019

50 and 100-yard freestyle events.

WDBJ7 caught up with her before one of her morning workouts at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, which she calls "the jewel of Christiansburg."

"My name is Susan Bricken. I'm 76 years old. And I started swimming about seven years ago," she said.

A lifelong athlete, Bricken used to be a runner until running became too painful. That's when she discovered swimming.

"Swimming is very good for the body," she said. "You don't get as many injuries."

But the new workout didn't come so easy.

"At that point, I could get across the pool only by doing a side stroke," she laughed. "And even then, I wasn't certain I was going to make it."

That may be hard to believe, seeing as she's diving off the starting blocks now, but that's not all she's doing.

"I decided to compete basically because if you compete and set goals, then it forces you to come to the pool at five o'clock in the morning when it's cold out, when you don't want to swim," Bricken said.

"Susan will call you and say, 'Hey, where are you? I'm here in the morning. Where are you? You're supposed to be swimming with me today,'" Nathan Destree, the Aquatics Competitive Coordinator and Bricken's coach, said.

"Susan is competition oriented," he added. "And through competition orientation, she's able to maintain her fitness and her health."

A year and a half ago, Bricken went to her first swim meet.

"I didn't know anything; it was really sad, but it was a lot of fun," she said.

So she kept at it and a year later came in first place in two events for her age group at the U.S. Masters Swimming.

"So I'm the fastest 76-year-old in the country," Bricken laughed.

Not only is she the fastest swimmer for 75- to 80-year-olds, her time actually ranks her 5th in the category overall since U.S. Masters Swimming was founded in 1970.

Though her smile will tell you she's definitely proud of that title, there's more to the accomplishment than gold medals.

"The benefits for me have been the journey," Bricken said. "It got me in the pool more often. It made me swim when I didn't want to. It made me swim harder than I ever wanted to."

"Susan is a model for long-term, lifetime fitness," her coach said.

And she'll be the first to tell you that if she can still make it to the gym at 76 years old, you can too, no matter your age.

"[It's] important that people, particularly as they age, do some sort of exercise, some sort of movement because I really do think it's the fountain of youth," she said.

And she'll be there with you every stroke of the way.

"I'm not done."

Bricken plans to compete at the U.S. Masters Swimming again this spring. Her goals are to improve her technique and swim even faster during the next competition.