Laura Val broke four Masters world records in her first meet in the 75–79 age group, adding to a legendary career that includes 430+ world marks.
by Terin Frodyma 11
February 03rd, 2026
2026 Fabulous Las Vegas Masters SCM Meet at UNLV
- January 17, 2026
- Buchanan Natatorium, Las Vegas, NV
- SCM (25 meters)
- Results
In the newest chapter of an already decorated Masters Swimming career, Laura Val, a 47-time individual Masters All-Star, competed in her first short-course meet in the 75-79 age group. Wasting no time, Val settled into her world record-breaking ways, notching four World Aquatics Masters World Records at the Fabulous Las Vegas Masters Short Course Meet on January 17th.
Val, a representative of Team Redbird in the Southern Pacific LSMC, picked up her first World Record of the meet in the 100 backstroke, turning in the 10th fastest time in the mixed event at the meet, but the fastest ever in the women’s 75-79 age group, touching in 1:18.19, smashing Cecilia McCloskey’s time from January of 2025 in 1:23.61.
In the 50 free, Val powered to a final time of 30.95, bettering Charlotte Davis’ two and a half month old World Record mark of 33.21. In the very next event, Val would lower McCloskey’s 50 backstroke World Record of 38.04 down to 35.71.
To put a pin in a historic showing, Val would take down another one of Davis’ freestyle marks when she clocked a 1:0.53 in the 100 free, clipping the former mark of 1:11.92 that Davis set in March of last year.
The career of Val includes over 1,000 individual All-American honors and more than 430 career world records broken across both long course and short course events, with her first coming as early as 1987. She also is the current holder of 72 USMS National Records across SCY, SCM, and LCM.
Today, Val boasts 44 World Aquatics Masters World Records that stand today (26 SCM, 18 LCM), with her longest held mark coming in the short course 200 butterfly for the women’s 55-59 age group, where she set the all-time mark in 2:32.13 in September of 2008.
Val began her swimming career at the age of 10, joining the Mountain View Dolphins Swim Team, two years later she would become a Junior Olympic National Champion in the water.
She later enrolled at San Diego State University, where she earned a nursing degree and graduated in 1972. 12 years later, Val joined the Los Altos Masters team, with the goal to train and use it as a workout. A year later, she raced in the U.S. Masters National Championships, where she broke six national records, and kickstarted one of the most decorated Masters careers in history.
In 2003, Val would be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and in 2004, she was inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall Of Fame. In the more than two decades since, Val would rewrite both national and world record books, and firmly place herself in the conversation for one of the greatest masters swimmers of all time.