David D. Casto
Outstanding Athlete Award
In 2003, at age 51, he competed in the United States Masters Long Course National Swimming Championships with the Colonials 1776 Regional Swimming Team and he finished in the top ten in back stroke, freestyle and butterfly. One of the premier moments of his life occurred at that meet when he swam the backstroke on the Colonials medley relay team which finished with the fastest time nationally and was awarded All American Status.
Dave has also swum across the Chesapeake Bay, as many as six times, as part of a fund raising event for the March of Dimes. The swim starts at Sandy Point State Park and ends at Hemingway’s Restaurant, a distance of at least 4 ½ miles and his best time was about one hour and 38 minutes. He has completed that swim in each age group and is looking forward to completing it again as a 60 year old.
For Dave’s outstanding achievements in the sport of swimming on the State, Regional and National levels, DSO recognizes him with our Outstanding Athlete Award.
Dave is a swimmer extraordinaire with Delaware Senior Olympics. Dave began competing in DSO swimming events when he reached age fifty and he is now in his third age group 60-64. He has won 23 gold medals in 10 events and has never been beaten in DSO competition. Of the 28 possible records in the events and age groups in which he has competed, Dave has broken and holds 27 of them. These events include the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, 50 and 100 yard butterfly, 50 and 100 yard backstroke, 100 and 200 yard individual medleys, 200 yard freestyle, 200 yard backstroke, and the 500 yard freestyle. The 28th record in the 100 freestyle he missed by 2/100ths of a second in his first attempt in the 60-64 age group during the 2014 competition but he is determined to break that record in 2015.