Tom Wolf’s entry into the world of competitive swimming began when he was just four years old. His mother, a non-swimmer with a fear of the water, recognized the importance of swimming skills for safety and enrolled Tom and his three siblings in swimming lessons at Baltimore’s Sparrow Creek Country Club. Tom quickly mastered his swimming skills and proceeded to join the Club’s summer league team. He won his first race at the club championships, the 12-yard freestyle for 5 and under.
Tom was hooked and continued with year-round training at the Dundalk YMCA, specializing in backstroke. He was a member of Calvert Hall High School’s class of ’72. Calvert Hall was a nationally prominent swim team producing multiple All-Americans each year and won the National Catholic League Championships Tom’s freshman year. Upper class teammates including Olympian Larry Barbiere and All-American Buster Yonych set the backstroke bar for Tom and he did not disappoint. He graduated as a
two-time state champion in the 100 back, added the 200 IM title as a senior, and was a three-event All-American his senior year.
Tom continued his swimming career at Harvard where he was coached by Don Gambril and Skip Kenney. As a freshman Tom established school records for the 100 and 200 yd backstroke and captured the 200 back title at the conference championship during his last three years at Harvard. He took a break between his junior and senior year to train with Dick Jochums in Long Beach for the 1976 Olympics. He qualified for the trails but not for the team and describes the experience as an incredible training opportunity and a highlight of his pre-Masters career. He returned to Harvard for his senior year and
set conference records for the 200 back, won the consolation finals at NCAAs and placed 5th at AAU Nationals. It took Olympians David Berkhoff and Dan Veatch to break Tom’s conference and school records.
After graduating, as is the case with many Masters swimmers, Tom turned his attention to work and family. A job change in 1993 took Tom to Washington DC and an introduction to DC Master’s swimming. After his 6-year hiatus, Tom rediscovered his passion for swimming, joined the DC club and after just __ months back in the water, attended the 1983 U.S. Masters Long Course Nationals in Indianapolis where he proceeded to set FINA/World Aquatic world records in the 50, 100, and 200 backstroke and win his age group’s 200 and 400 IM.
Tom’s Masters career has been exceptional despite being plagued with fits and starts. Between 2005 and 2017, Tom had all of his major joints repaired or replaced – both shoulders and both knees. Returning to the pool after each of his rehabs was followed with new age group national and world records, in many cases with times faster than the prior age group.
As of his induction into the Masters International Hall of Fame, Tom has swum in nine age groups. He has set 28 FINA/World aquatic backstroke and Individual medley world records and is embarking on a new age group where he is already adding to his record count.