Staring into the mirror at his out of shape 229 pound body, Dave Dickson, then 42, decided that swimming was not for him.

On that September day in 1995, he was attempting to register for Calgary Masters when he watched a Masters swimmer, David Mitchell, die during workout, despite desperate, valiant efforts to save the man.

"It scared the hell out of me. I thought I would be next."

Eventually, be it the call of the chlorine or just a natural need to swim, Dickson, then 45, returned to the water in 1998. He had been out of swimming for 27 years.

Taking to swimming like a fish to water, he began setting records. Dickson, now 53, currently holds Canadian records in the men's 50-54 age group for the 200m Fly long course (LC) 2:42, the 200m Free LC, 2:13, the 400m Free short course (SC) 4:42 * and the 800m Free SC, 9:47.

When he's not swimming, he runs Phoenix Fence, a leading Calgary chain link fencing manufacturer, supplier, and installation company which he started in 1995 out of his house. Phoenix now employs 34 people and operates out of a 10,000 square foot warehouse.

Can you spot Dave?

Dickson began swimming as a 12 year old. He had a natural affinity for butterfly. He was selected to represent Alberta in the 200M fly at the 1969 Canada Summer Games after only four seasons of competitive swimming.

At the Games in Halifax, athletes paraded in behind their provincial flags. "I thought I'd died and gone to heaven," as he was used to swimming at smaller meets. He swam terribly at the Canada Games, he recalls, as he was intimidated and fatigued from spending his days swimming and his nights awake, "acquiring" (stealing) provincial flags.

Within two years, his competitive career was over. In 1970, he stunned his parents and quit swimming to work at the A&W restaurant.

"Of course I fell in with a peer group that had different priorities in life such as drinking and smoking at which I seemed to excel."

From there life spiraled, ultimately in a downward direction: he watched fellow competitors, like Bruce Robertson, win a silver medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. His marriage failed: he was a single parent with two small children, ages 2 and 7, and working as hard in construction as he was at partying.

"It was a busy time. It probably took 10 years off my life," he says.

He was changing the spiral, however. He had remarried to Marilyn Dickson and they had a daughter together.

By 1994, he began watching his mother die a slow death by cancer; he decided that, as cliché as it sounds, "Life is precious and health is so important. A light bulb went on." He quit smoking cold turkey. He was "militant" about changing his life so the pool seemed a natural place to start. That is, until David Mitchell passed away right before his eyes.

By May of 1998 he found the courage to try Calgary Masters again. He was competing at the Nationals in Edmonton on a few months of training and has not stopped filling his race calendar since. He recently competed in the Saskatchewan Provincials and is entering the Alberta and British Columbia provincials, as well as the Canadian Championship May 19-22 at the Talisman Centre Pool. "The challenge of a PB (Personal best) is always there."

He admits that some of his drive may indeed come from a sense that he did not do it all as an age grouper. Still, he could not train if he didn't race in at least five meets a year. He enjoys seeing comparing his conditioning to others and thrills to read psyche sheets. "I feel a need to support the clubs that are putting these meets on, as there is a lot of work involved."

But even for someone as driven and competitive as Dickson, Masters is about more than just racing. "It becomes a social thing after awhile. It's a lifestyle now."

Dickson recognizes he's not a middle of the pool Masters swimmer. In a perfect world, he would like everyone to be competitive, he says, but he believes there is a place for everyone. Clubs need a balance between the competitive and strictly for fitness swimmers, he says. "I'm maturing now and I'm okay with that."

At meets he is more excited about swimming than he ever was as a youngster, he says. He understands the technical aspect of swimming and delights in beating younger swimmers. "It's about trying to better a specific time, in my mind. I'm delighted to get a personal best time, (lifetime) at 53. It makes the training all worthwhile."

	Family Status:	Married - 3 children (31, 25, 15)
	# of years swimming Masters:	1998 - 2006 (8 years)
	Favorite strokes:	1) Fly 2) Free
	Least favorite stroke:	Breast (it's not a real stroke, it's for people who can't do Fly)
	Top reasons to love swimming:	Feeds that competitive spirit, fitness, weight loss, great swim mates
	Other favorite sports:	Hockey, Ultimate Fighting
	Preferred after swim food/drink:	ISOflex protein, Beer, Wings
	Reading:	New Optimum Nutritional Bible
	Staying motivated:	The opportunity to race the best in my age group