(January 2, 1933 – March 7, 2012) Lavelle Stoinoff has been called the “Janet Evans of masters Swimming.” Stoinoff, who started swimming at the age of 12 at Portland’s Columbia Park Pool, held over nine world records in the women’s 60-64 age group. She graduated from Beaverton High School after setting many Oregon high school swimming records.
Unfortunately for Stoinoff, athletic opportunities for women athletes in the 1950’s were slim. College scholarships were awarded to male athletes and the Olympics had no long-distance swimming events for women. Those were Stoinoff’s specialty. So she retired from swimming in 1953 at the ripe old age of 20. After marriage and raising a family, Stoinoff returned to the pool in 1977 when she joined a masters club to “lose weight and have fun.” It took only a year for her to regain her competitive fitness and become a national age group champion. And that was only the beginning of an outstanding masters swimming career for Stoinoff. With a training regimen consisting of six days in the pool, weight training, running, and stretching she became one of the best female long distance masters swimmers in the world.
Stoinoff once held most of the national and world records for women over 50 years old at distances greater than 400 yards. She had world marks in the 400-, 800-and 1500-meter freestyle and the 200-meter backstroke. She also held national records in the 200-, 500-and 1650-yard freestyle. Stoinoff received the Oregon Women in Sports Award and was recognized as Oregon’s Outstanding Female Master Athlete of 1987. She also has been named Oregon’s Outstanding Masters Swimmer of the Year nine times overall including six times in the 1990’s. Even more remarkable is that many of her records were set after recovering from two torn rotator cuffs in 1990, injuries that doctors thought might end her swimming career. When stopped competing in 2006, Lavelle had set 53 national and 79 world bests.
Lavelle Stoinoff is a member of the International Sports Hall of Fame and the Beaverton High School Hall of Achievement.