Tracy Grilli
USMS Pool Records – Relay – 5 Lifetime
USMS Long Distance Records – Relay – 2 Lifetime, 1 Currently Held
USMS Long Distance All Star – 2000
USMS Pool All American Honors – 4 Individual, 8 Relay
USMS Long Distance All American Honors – 5 Individual
USMS Top Ten Achievements – 354 Individual, 222 Relay
Tracy Grilli was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, in April 1957, just in time for the grand opening of Bearcroft Swim and Tennis Club where her family were charter members. Her mom brought Tracy and her siblings (Kim and Mike) to the club pretty much every day during the summer. Tracy passed her pool test at age two-and-a-half, and she swam in her first meet at age 6. “Many years later, someone created an ‘Orphans of Bearcroft Swim Club’ Facebook page which really bring back the memories,” she says.
Tracy continued to swim during the summers at Bearcroft and with the Seekonk Dolphins under coach Ellis Mayers during the winter until she was 16. “I was an OK swimmer, nothing to brag about,” she says. “But my high school sports and activities became a priority and that was it for swimming.”
Tracy graduated from Norton High School in 1975 and she attended Slippery Rock State College in Pennsylvania to study physical education. “I tried out for the cheerleading squad,” but didn’t make the team. “I was too big.” She also tried out for the volleyball team and made it to the last cut. Still searching for something to keep her occupied, she went out for the swim team. “I figured I was 500 miles away from home and needed to do something, so I joined the swim team. Again, I was just an OK swimmer.”
After graduation, Tracy got a job as the physical director at the Malden YMCA, “and that’s where I found out about Masters swimming! I also met David there, and the two of us joined NEM. Well, actually I was too young to join,” – the minimum age to join Masters at the time was 25 – “but I was allowed to compete at meets and was listed in the results as a ‘sub-Master.’ We just absolutely loved everything about NEM – the people, the fun, the meets, the parties, the camaraderie.”
Tracy and David married in 1981, and subsequently had two children; Victoria was born in 1982 and Luke in 1985. They moved to Londonderry in 1986. Tracy got a job at the Nashua YWCA where she worked for 10 years. Throughout all of these years since college, there were very few pool workouts between meets, and relying on her fitness and stamina from teaching fitness and aerobics classes.
Sometime in her mid 30’s the “light bulb went on” and Tracy realized if she wanted to swim faster in meets, she needed to work out in the pool. She started swimming with the Granite State Penguins at the Nashua Boys and Girls club and at age 40, for the first time, she broke 1 minute in the 100 free. At the age 50, she broke 20 minutes in the 1650 and SCM 1500. At age 60, she had the fastest time in the world in the LCM 1500 in the 60-64 age group. Finally, she’d become a good swimmer
She says “For many years it was all about swimming my best times. Now it isn’t and I’ve adjusted my philosophy too. If I’m not going to swim fast, I’m going to have fun! No matter what it’s my best time of the day”.
Tracy is grateful she can participate in this sport, and the swimming friends she’s met since competing in her first meet in 1981 are just the absolute BEST.