Michael Boosin vs Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines

The Rowdy Gaines Classic is an annual, 3-day short course meters meet held in Orlando, FL. Rowdy Gaines isn’t just a spirited television analyst, he is an accomplished swimmer who was favored to win several medals at the boycotted Moscow games, and went on to win gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in the 100 free, 4x100 free relay, and 4x100 medley relay. An Olympic Hall of Fame member, Rowdy also holds multiple master’s world records in 50, 100, and 200 freestyle events as well as relays.

Last year’s Rowdy Gaines Classic was rescheduled from October to December due to hurricane Matthew. Perhaps this gave Michael the time he needed to be in peak form.  Michael won all of his events, including the 25, 50, and 100 free, 25 back, 25 breast, and 25 fly. Did I mention he’s a sprinter? Notably, in a head-to-head race, Michael edged out Rowdy in the 50 free 25.02 to 25.54. An incredibly good loser, Rowdy congratulated Michael and told him he had a good shot at breaking his world record. Jennifer Weiderman also competed at the Rowdy Gaines Classic. She did not beat Rowdy, but she would have in the mile or in any breaststroke event.