Christie Ciraulo has been swimming all her life and risen to the top of her age group for several decades now, both in the pool and open water.
She has served in various capacities locally and nationally among her US Masters Swimming colleagues for decades, volunteering and organizing all kinds of events. She works to tally event results, purchase awards, deliver awards, ensure compliance with USMS rules and procedures, generates publicity to attract participants, coordinates newsletter and online information, works with venues to add additional open water events, coaches, and somehow finds the time to train and compete well against women – and men – decades younger than her 70 years.
After stopping competitive swimming in high school as did most women did back in the 1950s and 1960s, Ciraulo obtained the bug to start swimming again 25 years later with the UCLA Masters in 1994.
Mighty Mermaids
Then she bumped up her intensity when she hit her 50th birthday. She told USMS, “Several years ago, I decided I needed an attitude adjustment: swimming was becoming too routine and I had celebrated my 50th birthday. I decided to invite other ‘over fifty, fast and fun’ women to join me in the annual open water relay in Lake Tahoe.”
She joined the Mighty Mermaids with Nancy Steadman Martin, Lisa Bennett, Jenny Cook, Karen Farnsworth Einsidler, and Tracy Grilli. Their forte was not just participation, but competition – always pushing themselves to test their mettle against younger swimmers.
Trans Tahoe Relay, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, Catalina Channel, Lake Travis Relay, Lake Winnipesaukee, Lake Pend Oreille, Tampa Bay Marathon Swim, English Channel, Flathead Lake, Long Boat Key, Bermuda, and END-WET were some of the events that they entered.
Earlier in the summer on July 8th, Ciraulo traveled from her home base near UCLA to Lake Memphremagog in Vermont and completed a 40 km cross-border relay to Magog, Quebec, Canada in 14 hours 14 minutes with Tracy Grilli, Veronica Hibben, Nancy Steadman Martin, Karen Einsidler, and Elaine Howley.
Racing
In addition to 13 lifetime USMS national records and a total of 494 Top 10 rankings in the pool (to date), Ciraulo won her age group divisions – numerous times – at the Waikiki Roughwater Swim and several ocean swims in Manhattan Beach, Seal Beach and Newport Beach in Southern California.
Her track record at the Dwight Crum Pier-to-Pier Swim is emblematic of her record in the open water:
- 2025: 1st in her age group and 7th woman overall at 71 years old in 50:46
- 2024: 1st in her age group in 56:10
- 2023: 1st in her age group in 50:32
- 2022: 1st in her age group in 51:18
- 2021: 1st in her age group in 47:11
- 2020: not held
- 2019: 1st in her age group in 47:14
- 2018: 1st in her age group in 54:12
- 2017: 1st in her age group in 59:39
- 2016: 1st in her age group in 56:04
- 2015: 1st in her age group in 51:04
- 2014: 1st in her age group in 50:38
- 2011: 1st in her age group in 49:59
- 2010: 1st in her age group in 48:58
- 2009: 1st in her age group in 53:56
- 2007: 1st in her age group in 44:18
- 2005: 1st in her age group in 53:02
- 2004: 1st in her age group in 51:36
- 2003: 1st in her age group in 46:33
- 2002: 1st in her age group in 48:10
- 2001: 1st in her age group in 46:54
- 2000: 1st in her age group in 50:50
- 1998: 1st in her age group in 51:59
© 2025 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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