Dowling Group Vice-President Sean Dowling was recently featured in the Greenwich Time after competing in the FINA World Masters Swimming and Diving Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, July 27th through August 7th.  

 

Sean competed in Springboard Diving, 5 Individual and 3 Relay Swimming events as well as the Open Water Swimming.  In total he competed in 10 events.  Dowling was the only competitor at the championships to compete in all three disciplines-diving, swimming and open water.  The highlight of the competition for him came in the 1 meter diving event where he took home a silver for the USA on his 32nd birthday.  
 
For the FINA world championships Sean came out of diving retirement, training with Billy McGowan at the Greenwich YMCA.  "It was as if the 12 years away from competitive diving never happened," Dowling reflected on the 1 meter springboard competition held at the Valhalla Pool in Goteborg, Sweden.  "I was right back where I left off at my last competition."  Dowling scored an even 257 points on his 7 dive list. 
 
Sean was a former Greenwich High School diver under Coach Ray Chickanis.  He was also the GHS Girls Diving Coach from 2007-2009.  In his mid-twenties Sean joined Nick Cavataro at the YWCA masters swim team to get in shape which evolved into competing in Masters Swimming Events.  He competes locally and regionally in Masters Swimming events including this month's 2 Mile Island Beach Swim where he placed 3rd in his age group. 

The FINA World Masters Championships are held every other year in venues around the globe.  This year's event had over 100 divers and 6,500 swimmers from nearly every country in the world.  The 2012 championships will be held in Riccione, Italy.  Dowling says he is already training for the event and a rematch with the Russian diver that edged him out.