105-year-old swimmer with Glendale ties sets record

Maurine Kornfeld set a World Aquatics Masters record on June 7 in the women's 50-meter backstroke, becoming the first woman to post a mark in the 105-109 age group. World Aquatics listed her time at 2:05.63 and described the swim as the first women's record ever recognized in that bracket. The result drew fresh attention to a swimmer whose competitive career began decades after childhood lessons and whose early Masters training was tied to the Glendale YMCA in California. U.S. Masters Swimming lists Kornfeld as a current member in the Southern Pacific local committee and says she has logged more than 1,100 swims in meet results. ### How unusual is a world record in the 105-109 age group? World Aquatics said the 105-109 division is one of the smallest age groups in Masters swimming, with only a handful of swimmers worldwide competing at that level. Kornfeld's June 7 swim opened the women's record book for that category because no previous women's mark had been established there. The governing body said it recognizes Masters world records in swimming for men and women across age groups and maintains those records to the hundredth of a second. In Kornfeld's case, that meant her 2:05.63 in long-course meters became both a winning swim and the inaugural women's standard for the age band. ### What is the Glendale connection? The Glendale YMCA appears repeatedly in accounts of Kornfeld's late-life return to swimming. U.S. Masters Swimming and the International Swimming Hall of Fame say Kornfeld resumed swimming after retiring from her work as a social worker and joined the Masters team at the Glendale YMCA, where she learned training routines and the language of organized competition. Swimming World Magazine reported that Kornfeld also completed Red Cross courses in water safety instruction, advanced lifesaving and adapted aquatics while connected to the Glendale Y. Those details place the pool not only as a training site but also as the setting where she built formal water-safety credentials after reentering the sport. ### When did Kornfeld become a competitive Masters swimmer? U.S. Masters Swimming and the International Swimming Hall of Fame say Kornfeld did not begin Masters competition until the 65-69 age group. The same biographical material says she set her first Masters world record at age 90, long after most elite swimming careers have ended. Her U.S. Masters Swimming profile shows the scale of that second act. The profile lists 644 individual Top Ten achievements, 20 years of individual pool All-American honors and 76 lifetime individual U.S. Masters records, along with relay and long-distance records. ### Why does her record stand out beyond a single race? The number 2:05.63 is the headline result, but Kornfeld's record also stands out because it extends a competitive career that began after retirement. World Aquatics called the performance a "landmark moment" for Masters swimming in announcing the mark in July. The International Swimming Hall of Fame, which has profiled Kornfeld as a Masters honoree, has described her swimming in terms of longevity and continued competition past age 100. U.S. Masters Swimming has also featured her in member materials and video posts marking recent records. ### Where is she competing now? U.S. Masters Swimming lists Kornfeld's most recent club as Rose Bowl Masters. The same profile identifies her as a current member in Southern Pacific, indicating she remains active in organized Masters swimming even as her earlier development was linked to Glendale. World Aquatics published its notice of Kornfeld's record on July 17, and the Masters records page continues to serve as the official reference point for whether the mark stands. U.S. Masters Swimming's athlete profile remains the main public record for her club affiliation, honors and future meet results.