Nineteen ninety-eight was an eventful year for Jane Bruner. Early in the year, she underwent shoulder surgery and rehabilitation. In May, she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. In August, at age 64 and at the top of her age group, she won six individual events, set one individual world record and was part of two world record setting relays at Long Course Nationals in Ft. Lauderdale. At the end of the year, she was looking forward to aging up and took a scuba diving vacation in Indonesia with her husband Robert.

The bacteria, which produces a toxin much like snake venom and travels rapidly along human tissues, had spread to her abdomen and she was unable to use her arms. For the next eleven days, she remained in the hospital, with the incisions opened and cleaned every other day. After returning home, she remained on I.V. antibiotics for another 23 days, and after than continued oral antibiotics for several weeks. Thankfully, the antibiotics tamed the bacteria. While she was home and completely free of the toxin, her husband developed a lesion on his hand caused by the same bacteria.

Jayne suspects that her wetsuit, which had been stored in an uncovered building and remained damp during the diving trip, became a breeding ground for the bacteria. After 100 hours diving in the wetsuit, there was bacteria running rampant all over her body. When she returned home, her elbows were bothering her and she decided to wait to get back to swimming until after the surgery. In hindsight, she wonders if chlorine would have killed the bacteria.

With daughter Cheryl's support, Jayne got back in the pool in February. Initially, she was so weak, she could only kick and had to use the handicapped ramp to get in and out of the pool.

Still, by late April, she swam on four winning and one second place relays at the Colonies Zone Short Course Championships. In her eagerness to get back in the water, she pulled a muscle during the summer, but in August, she picked up where she left off the year before, helping her DC Masters teammates Barbara Frid, Beth Schreiner and Barbara Zaremski to set a USMS record in the 240-280 400 Meter Free Relay. She also set an individual 65-69 USMS record in the 50 breaststroke (45.95).

In December 1999, she had tumor on her parathyroid gland removed. She was back in the pool again within a month and set a USMS record in the 50 meter (SC) breaststroke at the Albatross Open (44.55). She also was on a record setting 400 meter free relay team. At short course nationals in Indianapolis, she once again won six individual events and set USMS records in the 50 (39.12) and 100 breaststroke (1:26.53). Her winning margins in those events were ten and 18 seconds! She also swam on two winning and one third place relays. She was ranked first in eight events for the short course yards season, including every 50 yard event and all three breaststroke events.

At long course nationals, she was five for five in her individual events, winning 50 free, 50 and 100 breast and 50 and 100 fly and setting a world record in the 50 free (33.55), breaking the old record by a half second. She also swam on two winning and two third place relays.

Jayne swam competitively at the Riviera Club in Indianapolis but quit when she was 17. She began swimming again at age 39 and soon became involved with masters, competing in her first nationals in 1974. In 1993, she moved to Reston from Pittsburgh and joined DC Masters. Daughter Cheryl, also a masters swimmer, lives in Washington and recently gave birth to a daughter, Gabriella. Cheryl and Jayne have enjoyed travelling to meets and have done several relays together. She also has a son who swam briefly in high school, but now is out of the pool. Before retiring, Jayne was a nurse midwife and delivered as many as 200 babies a year.

Jayne considers herself fortunate to have had many good coaches throughout her masters swimming career. Over the years, she has swum with age group teams and until recently swam with the Curl Burke Senior Group at Westwood Country Club in Vienna. For the past year, she has been swimming with John Flanagan at Tuckahoe in McLean and at Hains Point, hoping to build a good aerobic base. She is looking forward to 2001, with tentative plans to attend YMCA nationals in Sarasota and USMS Long Course Nationals in Federal Way, Washington.

Being a swimming phenomenon does have its drawbacks. Several years ago, other swimmers at the Reston Community Center requested that Jayne be thrown out of the pool during senior citizen hours because she splashed too much. They didn't think she was old enough to be in the pool. When she was selected as one of the top USMS swimmers the next year, the article was posted on the wall. Indeed she is old enough to use the pool during senior citizen hours. In 1997, Jayne told Swim magazine that she swims primarily to challenge herself and that she is "kind of fascinated with what I can get my body to do as it ages." She considers her ability to swim fast a gift.

In September, she and her husband will embark on yet another scuba diving trip to a remote spot in Indonesia. This time, they will visit a different area, not because they contracted flesh-eating bacteria on the last trip, but because they weren't thrilled about the diving or the accommodations. Indonesia is still her favorite place and she isn't going to let a little bacteria destroy her love of diving.

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