Ellen Reynolds to Be Inducted to MISHOF in 2026

For some folks, turning 60 can be a less-than exciting experience; the passage of time sometimes triggers anxiety about what’s to come in the future.

But for many Masters swimmers, including Ellen Reynolds, aging up is a prime opportunity to be even better than you were last year.

In 2024, Reynolds did just that when she matured into the 60–64 age group, taking full advantage of that opportunity to continue her dominance in some of the hardest swimming events contested in Masters meets. She also sealed her fate as one of the most versatile and best Masters swimmers ever, an appellation that will be made official this coming May when she’s formally inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame.

That accolade recognizes some 20 years of excellence and diligence by Reynolds, who has somehow managed to fit an impressive Masters swimming career in around the always-on-call life of a pediatric surgeon in Boise, Idaho.

Reynolds, a member of Team Redbird, grew up a swimmer, but she put her love affair with swimming on hold during college and medical school. Residency, fellowships, and establishing a career kept her away from the pool until she was nearly 40.

Then, in an effort to get back in shape—all those years away from swimming in the high-stress world of treating the most vulnerable of patients had taken a toll—Reynolds began swimming again. Before long, she’d rekindled a love of competition that has led her to set 87 USMS individual records and rack up more than 300 Top 10 achievements.

But as Reynolds eyed her 60th birthday, she decided to step back from medicine so she could pour more energy into Masters swimming.

“My goal was to go to a bunch of swim meets because normally I only get to go to a couple per year,” she says. “I wanted to see what events I could do and how hard I could push myself.”

That strategy paid off. She set 26 AQUA Masters world records during the 2024–2025 season.

Reynolds, now 61, credits her success in part to the support she gets from her fiancé, Brian Johnson, who she describes as a “land animal to my water person.” Even though he’s not really a swimmer, he gets why this is important to her and the dedication needed to do it so superlatively. “It’s nice to have someone with you that’s willing to sit at a swim meet all day,” she says.

One of Reynolds’s most cherished memories is of competing at the World Aquatics Masters Championship in Doha, Qatar, in 2024, which she says was “just a super fun meet.” Leading up to Doha, Reynolds and Johnson spent several weeks in Australia so she could “really swim long course.” That precision training paid off, as she set the standard for women in the 60–64 age group in five events in Doha:

• 200-meter backstroke (2:30.58)
• 100-meter backstroke (1:10.22)
• 200-meter IM (2:34.27)
• 400-meter IM (5:30.07)
• 200-meter breaststroke (3:00.11)

Reynolds’s success in Masters hasn’t been overnight. Indeed, she says, “it took a long time to get moving and get back in shape,” but she has clearly not only gotten back in shape but continues to outpace her previous self. She didn’t compete in college, and she says the key to her success has been just continuing to consistently show up and put in the hard work.

“If you look back over my times for 20 years, they get better, and then they’re just consistent,” she says, which while continuing to age means she has perpetually made gains in strength and endurance to offset the inevitable decline that creeps in over time.

“It was just consistent, hard work and really focusing on technique and mindset. I’m just fortunate that I was able to do that,” she adds.

And in reflecting on what this honor means to her, Reynolds is quick to point out that she hasn’t done it alone. For the first decade-plus in Masters swimming, Reynolds was coached by her mom, Mary Ann Reynolds, who put in a lot of time and energy to support her daughter in her quest to set records and win races.

For the past five years or so, since her mom stepped back from coaching her, Reynolds has been working with Kristen Hill. Hill is not on-deck but “is really good at writing me appropriate workouts with the goals I have in mind,” Reynolds says.

Reynolds also thanks her training partner, John Rubocki, a member of Sawtooth Masters, for keeping her on point during each one of those workouts. “He’s always just wiling to show up and do whatever work,” she says. “He’s one of the few people willing to do it because he’s a 200 flyer.” Read: He’s got an innate willingness to suffer when needed.

She gives a shoutout to Jelena Kunovac, who started the virtual Team Redbird. “It’s been wonderful because she collected a group of ladies 60 and older that really love to swim. None of us train together and we’re all different swimmers,” but they had a ball together ruling the pool in Doha.

And she says she’d be remiss if she didn’t specifically thank all the meet officials, referees, and volunteers who work so hard behind the scenes to make Masters swim meets possible. “If we don’t have swim meets, then you can’t get to do the events.”

For the past several months, Reynolds and Johnson have shifted focus to chase his dream: getting a boat and cruising the world. They spent the summer puttering around the Baltic Sea and meeting all kinds of interesting people and seeing a new part of the world. Because of that, Reynolds has taken a little break from competing, but she still gets in the pool whenever she can to stay in shape.

But lest you think she’s going to hang up her goggles for good, rest assured, there’s no doubt much more speedy swimming ahead for this phenomenal swimmer; it’s hard to keep an avowed competitor out of the water for long. 

In the meantime, Reynolds says she’s “really honored” to be named to the MISHOF class of 2026. “It certainly validates all the hard work I’ve been doing. But it’s not why I did it. It’s not why I swim. I swim because I love to swim and be in the water. For me, it’s just a way to be grateful for everybody who’s helped me along the journey.”