100 Years | Maurine Kornfeld Story
“You ought to do it for fun, because if it ain’t fun, why bother,” says Maurine Kornfeld, a world record holder at one hundred years old. Easier said than done. Swimming challenges the body and the mind at any age. Yet Kornfeld became the oldest competing female swimmer in the United States, proving what joy, determination, and community can accomplish.
She did not grow up chasing podiums. In fact, she stayed away from competition until much later in life. After retiring from her career as a social worker, she signed up for a Red Cross class at the local YMCA. One class led to another until she became a certified water safety instructor. That small decision brought her back to the pool and set her on a course she never expected.
In her mid-sixties, she joined a Master's team. The workouts were tough, and she was far behind swimmers who had trained for years. But she kept showing up. She found comfort in the rhythm of laps and strength in the friendships that formed around the pool deck. Retirement had given her free time, but swimming gave her purpose and focus.
By ninety, she was not only competing but breaking barriers. That year, she set her first Master's world record. At ninety-five, she stunned the crowd in Budapest at the World Championships, becoming the oldest female swimmer in the meet and breaking the world record in the 800-meter freestyle. With each finish, she was proving that passion and consistency could redefine what aging looks like.
When she turned one hundred, she celebrated with a swim at the Pacific Park Pool in Glendale. It was not a publicity stunt. It was her way of greeting another year with the same joy that first drew her back to the water.
Her career did not slow down. Over the years, she has set several national and world records. She was inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame in 2018 and continued setting records beyond the age of one hundred.
Her routine is as steady as her stroke. Four mornings a week, she drives to the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. She swims with teammates half her age, trading laughs and stories in the hot tub after practice. For Kornfeld, swimming is not just about records. It is about belonging. She found a passion in her sixties, nurtured it for decades, and let it carry her across a century. Her journey is proof that it is never too late to dive in and discover what moves you.
At Story Directive, we believe powerful stories move people. Maurine’s journey is one more example of how storytelling can inspire us to see possibilities where others see limits. If your business is interested in narrative-driven video storytelling, we invite you to book a discovery call and explore how we can bring your story to life.