Three-time Olympic gold medalist and Growing Bolder contributor Rowdy Gaines just keeps getting better. The 52-year-old just set a world record in Japan!
At a Masters Swimming competition in Osaka, Japan, Rowdy set a new world record in the 100m freestyle for the 50-54 age group with a time of 54.6.
Rowdy also holds a world record with his Team Blu Frog teammates, including Growing Bolder CEO/Founder Marc Middleton, Keith Switzer and Scot Weiss, who we featured in the episode Never Give Up.
Watch the video below to watch Team Blu Frog setting the world record in 2010, a feat they repeated earlier this year.
While in Japan, Rowdy also went on a goodwill tour throughout the Sendai region, which was devastated by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.
Throughout the trip, Rowdy has been sharing photos on his Facebook and Twitter streams. Check out his pictures below, then follow him today to learn more about his adventures around the globe as he smashes stereotypes and continues to make a difference in lives everywhere.
Rowdy, we’re proud to have you on our team! Keep on Growing Bolder!
"Just got to Sendai for our Goodwill tour of the tsunami region. Took the Burt train from Tokyo"
"We are right at the edge of the tsunami zone. This shoe store just opened back up last week"
"A sweet family who lost everything in the tsunami. I think we put a smile on their face when they held my gold medal."
"Complete and utter devastation that words and this picture can't describe."
"We are 1/4 mile from the ocean and the tsunami was 40 feet high, which is above this pile of debris."
Rowdy also wrote: “An amazing day — swim clinic for local kids in the only functioning pool in Sendai and tour of the tsunami zone. Heartbreaking and inspiring.”
And the next day he wrote, “Another day in Sendai. A school, shelter and children’s hospital. According to officials, I’m the first Olympic swimmer to visit the region!”
"Checking out the 'Donald' McDonald House in Sendai. Team Blu Frog was well represented at our favorite charity."
