Lust leaves for national games

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

One of Strathmore’s fastest swimmers is away trying to bring home a national championship.
Susan Lust dominated at the Alberta 55-plus Provincial Summer Games last August at the Calgary Winter Club, earning a ticket to the Canada 55-plus Summer Games just wrapping up in Saint John, New Brunswick.
Lust needed to place in the Top 3 at the provincial meet to qualify for the national event. Lust put on a clinic and took home silvers in each of the 50-metre (m) backstroke, 50m freestyle, 100m back and 4x25m relay.
One year later, Lust has trained vigorously and entered the game in tip-top shape.
“I feel great and I feel like I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. I’ve been working hard this winter and I swim 64 lengths a week at the Aquatic Centre,” said the 70-year-old Lust. “I haven’t so much worried about the sprinting, just about building my muscles up and worked on my dives and turns in the water. The lifeguards at the Aquatic Centre have been a great help.”
Last year, Lust was in the 64 to 69-year-old age group. She now finds herself in the 70 to 74 age group.
“These games are so important for seniors to keep fit and to be healthy. We don’t want to be a drain on the health care system, so these games are a great way to motivate people to stay in shape,” said Lust.
When the games got underway Aug. 19, Lust had three days of acclimatizing to the time zone and the new environment, as her competition didn’t get underway until Aug. 22.
Lust will line up in three events with Team Alberta: the 50m free, 50m back and 100m free, which run Aug. 23 and 24. The final day of the games goes Aug. 24, when 11 other sports also wrap up.
Making the cross-country trip with Lust will be her husband, Hal. The two have never been to the Maritimes, and both want to check out Prince Edward Island, along with visiting friends in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.