Nadine Day
Nadine Day, 37, has been a force in the international swim scene for years. She currently holds the Individual Medley Masters world record, set in 2004. Day is fresh off placing first in six events at the 2007 Long Course National Championships in Woodlands, Texas. She was top in the 200 and 50 breaststroke, the 100 and 200 fly, and her strongest, the 200 and 400 individual medley 200. "The medley is my favorite because you get to do all four strokes," she says. "I don't have one specialty. The medley requires you to be proficient at all four."

The Danville, Illinois resident attributes her record to "race training," where she practices religiously at the speed she mentally and physically knows will produce a winning time. After swimming for 30 years, she still frequently does drills to help produce an efficient stroke.

Day says she uses her swim times, and not necessarily her place in the Championships, as a means for her goals. "I race the clock, and that's one of things I look for in my improvement in swimming times."

Day is now the President of the Illinois Masters Swimming Association. Her goal is to make Master Swimming in Illinois a powerhouse in the country.

In addition to working in physical therapy, she loves coaching swimming, scuba diving and watching her husband play golf.

Dean Hewson
Dean Hewson has completed more than 150 triathlons. His athletic career had humble beginnings 17 years ago when, "I finally got fed up of feeling sick from drinking a lot and decided to turn my life around by training for and trying to finish a triathlon."

This year Hewson has won the Lake Delavan Triathlon, the Lake in the Hills Triathlon and the Spirit of Racine Sprint. He competed in the Triple at the Accenture Chicago Triathlon and won the Fleet Feet Supersprint and Accenture Chicago Sprint triathlons. "The highlight for me was leading the (Sprint) race- I started in the first wave-and being the first athlete to cross the finish line in the biggest triathlon in the world."

He couldn't do it without his family, though, which includes his two children and his wife, Paula. "She and I help each other, and her support makes my training and racing possible ... triathlon is, happily, my fourth priority," he says.

Although this year he's been focusing on shorter distances, Hewson has finished nine Ironmans including the Hawaii Ironman in 1999 and 2004. He has also competed internationally, qualifying for the ITU World Championships six years in a row.

"The sport has given me so much!" he says. "It's taught me things that I apply to my relationships, my work and other areas of my life ... Sport is a great medium to help people be who they want to be."