Olympic gold-medalist Rowdy Gaines has tips for older swimmers, or if you're returning to the pool

Olympic gold-medalist Rowdy Gaines has swimming tips if you're an older swimmer, or returning to the pool after years away.

Gaines won three Olympic gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games and is widely known as the “voice of swimming” for his coverage of the Olympics with American network NBC.

Swimming is an all-around exercise with water providing mild resistance. It’s low-impact, offers a complete workout and is suitable for all ages.

“Of course I'm biased, but I will stack swimming against any other exercise out there, especially as we age,” Gaines told The Associated Press. “And swimming is one of the few sports you can do forever.”

Gaines missed out on a shot at winning a handful of medals at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which the United States boycotted. Gaines set 10 world records between 1978 and 1984 and was the heir in American sprinting to Mark Spitz and a predecessor to Michael Phelps.

Gaines is 66 and said his 90-year-old father, Buddy, is back training for a meet for older swimmers early next year. He said his father has not swum seriously in, perhaps, 70 years.

Gaines stayed away from advice around strokes, detailed workout plans, and specific training suggestions. His tips are geared for older swimmers and those retuning after a long layoff — perhaps decades.

Defog your goggles, slip into the pool, grab your kickboard and let's get motivated.

Take time to work on your technique. Most recreational swimmers use the freestyle stroke, also known as the front crawl. But his advice also applies to breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly.

With freestyle, Gaines preaches taking long, smooth strokes — not short, choppy ones. And for freestyle swimmers, keep your head in the water and aligned with your body.

“Water rewards efficiency,” said Gaines, who won his three gold medals in the 100 free and two relays. “It has nothing to do with power. I think a lot of first-timers feel like they have to power their way through the water and that is not true.”

Build distance and endurance slowly. Maybe a few decades ago you could swim non-stop for 30 minutes. You won't be able to after a long time away.

Start with a 200-yard (meter) workout. Swim 25 yards (meters) and rest until your heart rate slows. Do this eight to 10 times “and then get the heck out of the pool,” Gaines said.

“You don’t want to overdo it to start with and then get frustrated and think you can’t do it,” he said. “You need to increase your total distance little by little.”

Gaines suggested the goal is a 20-30 minute workout, three times per week. Swimming relies on getting a feel for the water, which requires steadfastness.

“Three days a week is the sweet spot,” he said. “If you are doing less than three days a week, it’s really tough to develop the consistency you need.”

This is common sense, but take time to warm up. Do this on dry land, perhaps, before hitting the water. Do stretches, work your shoulders, and work on some strength training.

It's no secret that some swimmers experience lots of shoulder pain.

“You have to listen to any pain,” Gaines said. “Pain is a lot different than fatigue or strain. Pain is real. If you are feeling fatigue and strain, that's good. If you are feeling pain, that's bad.”

If something hurts, stop and change your workout.

If you swim freestyle, Gaines suggested adding in a bit of backstroke to loosen the shoulders and add strength. Breaststroke in also easier on the shoulders. Butterfly, however, is tough on the shoulders.

Gaines emphasized keeping it fun and getting comfortable in the water. Not fighting it.

“Learn to feel the water,” he said. “The small goal of just feeling the water is much more important than many other things. Swimming is not easy. You are not always going to feel good swimming. But you are going to feel great when you’re done.”

He also emphasized varying your workout — meaning time, distance and strokes to keep in fun and interesting.

Swimmers need to stay hydrated. It's not generally a problem for recreational swimmers, but swimmers perspire while swimming. The warmer the pool, the more this might be a problem.

Gaines reminded that pool temperatures vary, but 80 degrees F (27 degrees C) is about right. Warmer temperatures can lead to more dehydration.

He also suggested training aids such a swim fins, paddles or pull-buoys, which are also another part of adding variety.

“I really don’t like to swim, but I love the feeling of being done,” Gaines said. (Remember, this revelation is from a decorated Olympic athlete.) “I crave that feeling when I get out of the water. It's the endorphins. It's definitely mental for me.”

Gaines said he swims six days a week, usually between 2,000 and 2,500 yards (meters). He said about 40% is freestyle with three 20% sections of backstroke, breaststroke and kicking.

“You want to have variety for that recreational swimmer because swimming can be boring,” Gaines said. “However, swimming can almost be meditation, even for that three-day a week, recreational swimmer.”

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Former Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines swims, Tuesday, Nov 11, 2025 at a pool in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

Former Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines sits poolside, Tuesday, Nov 11, 2025 at a pool in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

Former Olympic swimmer Rowdy Gaines swims, Tuesday, Nov 11, 2025 at a pool in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman says Sonny Gray admitted he expressed a desire to play in New York at the behest of his agent so as not to harm his free-agency value and didn't voice his dislike of the Big Apple until after the 2018 trade deadline had passed.

Gray was acquired by Boston in a trade from St. Louis last month and spoke of his 1 1/2 seasons in New York during a Zoom news conference on Dec. 2.

“New York was, it just wasn’t a good situation for me, wasn’t a great setup for me and my family,” he said. “I never wanted to go there in the first place.”

His agent denied Cashman's allegations in an email to The Associated Press.

Gray was traded from Oakland to the Yankees in July 2017 and went 15-16 with a 4.52 ERA with New York. He was dropped from the rotation in August 2018 after he smirked when fans booed as he walked off the Yankee Stadium mound in the third inning of a 7-5 loss to Baltimore. He was dealt to Cincinnati in January 2019.

“After the deadline was over, he asked to meet with me. He said, 'Hey, can we talk?'” Cashman said Sunday night after arriving at the winter meetings.

Cashman recalled meeting with Gray in the clubhouse office of Chad Bohling, the Yankees' senior director of organizational performance.

“He said, 'I thought you were going to trade me,'” Cashman said. “I was like, publicly I’m out trying to get pitching, starting pitching and bullpen. Why would I trade a starter when we need pitching badly? ... And he goes, ‘Well I got to tell you, I’ve never wanted to —' that’s when he told me he never wanted to be here. He hates New York. This is the worst place. He just sits in his hotel room."

“I said, Well it’s a little late now,” Cashman recalled. “So then I told him, I said, but you said you wanted to be traded here. And he said, 'My agent, Bo McKinnis, told me to do that. He told me to lie. It wouldn’t be good for my free agency to say there are certain places that I don't want to go to.'”

“And I told him: Nothing I can do about it now. I wish you’d told me well beforehand. I wish we knew this before we even tried to acquire you that you never wanted to come here," Cashman said. "We tried to do our homework. … And I said so now we’ll just have to play the year out and this winter I’ll do whatever I can to move you and we moved him to the Reds.”

Cashman said the Yankees had a minor league video coordinator who had been roommates of Gray at Vanderbilt and that Gray had mentioned to his former roommate: "Tell Cash, get me over to the Yankees. Blah, blah, blah. Like I want out of Oakland. I want to win a world championship. Blah, blah, blah. So, and it wasn’t just him. He was communicating that to a number of different people that was getting to us, that he wants to be a Yankee."

McKinnis refuted Cashman's comments.

“So Brian is trying to make people believe I told Sonny to, in Cashman’s words, `lie' to the minor league video guy to try to get Sonny to the Yankees, even though, per Cashman, Sonny did not want to be with the Yankees, to subsequently somehow help Sonny’s free agency,” McKinnis wrote in an email to the AP.

“This makes zero sense,” McKinnis added. “If any player does not want to play for a certain club — thus potentially not performing at their best if they were with that team — it does not help their career and future free agency to lie their way into a trade to that club. Brian’s claim makes no sense. Further, the words, `I want out of Oakland,' have never been said by Sonny. He loved his time with the A’s.”

Now 36, Gray has become a three-time All-Star and is 125-102 with a 3.58 ERA over 13 seasons with the Athletics (2013-17), Yankees (2017-18), Reds (2019-21), Minnesota (2022-23) and Cardinals (2024-25). The right-hander waived a no-trade provision to accept the deal to the Red Sox.

“What did factor into my decision to come to Boston is it feels good to me to go to a place now where you know what, it’s easy to hate the Yankees, right? It’s easy to go out and have that rivalry and go in it with full force, full steam ahead," Gray said. "I like the challenge. I appreciate the challenge. I accept the challenge. But this time around it's just go out and be yourself. Don't try to be anything other than yourself and if people don't like it, it is what it is. I am who I am, and I'm OK with that."

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FILE - St. Louis Cardinals' Sonny Gray pitches to a San Francisco Giants batter during the first inning of a baseball game, Sept. 24, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, file)