Sun City swimmer sets record

Local senior celebrates 90th birthday by setting national mark

James Pearce likes to joke that swimming is a sport he can do while laying down.

He might be on to something, considering the Sun City Summerlin resident, and avid swimmer, recently turned 90 years old.

Pearce, who has been swimming since he was 8, celebrated his 90th birthday by breaking a national record in the 50-yard freestyle event at the 23rd annual Nevada Senior Olympics.

Pearce, who has won close to 30 gold medals in 10 years of competing in the Nevada Senior Games, recently added another medal to his collection when he completed 50 yards in 40.4 seconds at the Las Vegas Municipal Pool.

Pearce shattered the previous U.S. Masters National Record of 40.78 seconds.

"That was a nice feeling. I was just trying to get a gold medal and swim, and that happens to be the event I like best," Pearce said. "I just did my best in it. I didn't have it in mind to break any records.

"This is something that hadn't ever happened to me. Before I leave here, it's nice to know that while I was here on Earth, I did break one record."

Pearce, who was born on Sept. 9, 1913 in Louisville, Ky., credits swimming for helping him live a long, healthy, prosperous life.

"I've lived to be 90, so that says something about it," he said. "Swimming keeps me fit, and it's a sport I can do laying down, too. I get a lot of satisfaction out of keeping fit. I do a lot of weightlifting on the side, not much. But I want to try to live longer and be healthy.

"Since I broke the record, people are saying I need to go swim again, wherever there are events. I had planned to make this my last year, but now I'm not so sure. If I'm in fairly good shape, I'll do it."

Pearce shined in a field of close to 850 athletes, ages 50 and older, who competed in 34 sporting events at the senior games.

The Olympic-style competition is conducted by Nevada Senior Games Inc., a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to encourage older adults to remain active.

Pearce's son, James Pearce Jr., also won a medal at the games, and was on hand to witness his father's record-breaking feat.

"He exercises more than I do and he wants to live longer than me," Pearce said of his 53-year-old son, who has a doctorate's degree and is a professor in North Carolina.

Pearce, who also has a daughter, lived in Pasadena, Calif., for 37 years before moving to Las Vegas in 1991 with his wife, Mary.

He stays very active, swimming up to a mile a day, three times per week, with the Sun City Summerlin Swim Club, of which he is a former president. Pearce will also serve as president of the club next year.

"We work out and help each other on our strokes," he said. "We're like a family. We've been together so long. We've developed really good friendships with each other."

Pearce, who retired from his government job in the Social Security Administration in 1977, was on the board of directors at his local YMCA in California, where he taught children's swim classes.

In addition to staying active in the swim club, Pearce is a member of Sun City Summerlin's Ebony and Ivory Club and the City of Hope Club as well, which raises up to $50,000 per year to benefit the City of Hope Hospital in California. Pearce also is a former president of Sun City's Travel Club.

Pearce has experienced his share of highs and lows in life, from the Depression-era days when he wasn't allowed to compete in AAU swim meets because of the color of his skin, to traveling across the world, to the Holy Land and beyond, and through it all he has maintained a positive attitude and kept faith in the goodwill of mankind.

"You find that there are good people. There have been some stinkers, but I have faith in other people," he said. "You try to respect them and work with them. The road in life is pretty easy if you accept others and you are outgoing."


<<--[back]