Sunshine Coast Cotton Tree Masters Swimming Club patriarch China Johnson has a simple strategy to beating the opposition.
“I just outlive them,” he laughs, and which on face value seems a reasonable strategy for a 95-year-old turning 96 next month.
“But that doesn’t account for the fact that China has a trophy cabinet big enough to see from the Moon, bulging with bling from beating plenty of younger opponents.
“I’ve always had a fascination for swimming and collecting medals,” the oldest competitor at these Games said.
“I gained my Royal Life Saving Society bronze medallion for proficiency in a pool at 14 years of age when I was a student at Wollongong Secondary School and, two year later, I got my surf proficiency as a member of the Corrimal Surf Life Saving Club.
“I went on to compete in club swimming championships and I won medals for junior surf and belt races from 1944-1946.
“Then, for a little excitement I went on to enlist in the Army and served on active service in the Korea Campaign, where I awarded six military medals.
“And in 1969 and 1970 I twice competed in two-mile swims across Lake Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains,” he said.
In 1971 China, an electrician at the time, relocated his family to Queensland and the medals have kept draping themselves around on his neck ever since.
Before this week, his Masters medal tally stood at five gold at world championships, 44 at Australian championships, 77 State championships and 36 at the Pan Pacific Masters Games.
Throw in dozens of silver and bronze medals and you get the idea the bloke can still swim.
Earlier this year at the Masters Swimming Queensland State Short Course Championships, China competed in 11 events over four days to go home with 11 medals, all of them gold.
That tally is already on the march north after he won the 50m free and 100m backstroke at the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre on Thursday and he will likely snare more gold by Saturday’s close of the swimming competition with swims still to come in the 200m and 400m backstroke and 100m free and the 50m and 100m breaststroke.
And did we mention, in a warmup of sorts earlier this week, China entered the indoor rowing where he took part in the 2000m, 1000m, 500m and the minute sprint – winning the lot of them and setting new world marks in half.
And what of the future for this super fish of the ages?
“I believe I have finally arrived at the end of the road as far as Masters swimming is concerned,” China laments unconvincingly.
“I may go another year, but it will all depend on just how far the body allows me to go, although this year has been very kind to me as far as competition is concerned.
“I don’t have to beat the opposition these days; I just outlive them,” he said.
