Susan Ingraham Is Just Having Fun

Winning isn’t everything, but it does feel good. With that in mind, imagine how elite swimmer Susan Ingraham, age 60 of San Antonio, must feel.

With six gold medals under her belt from the 2017 National Senior Games and the positioning to sweep the competition at the 2019 National Senior Games presented by Humana, Susan is a swimmer to watch out for.

This year, Susan is competing in the 50-, 100- and 200-yard butterfly and freestyle – six races in total. The Games Daily News caught up with her after her first race: the 100-yard butterfly race. Susan not only won the race, she broke the National Senior Games record for her age division.

“I’ve broken numerous national records, and I just got a [National Senior Games] record for the hundred fly,” she said.

Susan followed that race with another win. She won the gold in her age division for the 200-yard freestyle race as well. The remainder of her four races will follow later this week.

A renowned swimming instructor. Susan shared that coaching others helps her to better understand her own swimming technique and that swimming helps her understand how to be a more effective coach. She calls it a symbiotic relationship.

“I have athletes with different challenges. It challenges me as a coach to think about how to prepare athletes for their events, and sometimes I even end up preparing for their challenges alongside them,” she said.

Susan shared that her experience at The Games is not just about winning, but that she enjoys the National Senior Games as a comprehensive experience.

“I really enjoy doing the Senior Games. I always feel that, for as large as it is, and as many sports are involved and all the other social events, it is always so well organized,” she said. “It makes it fun for us as athletes. We always try to either come in a day or two early or stay a day or two extra at the end.”

Story and photo by Tim Harris