Swimmer is still going for gold — at 79

After Michael Phelps, too.

And that, as Knowlton will be the first to tell you, is good news and bad news.

When Phelps shocked and awed the world at the Beijing Olympics this summer — collecting an unprecedented eight gold medals by winning every event he entered — swimming became as popular as Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus. The water level in pools around the globe rose about half a foot.

Little kids everywhere — and of all ages — want to be Michael Phelps.

One evidence of that is the increased number of entries in the Huntsman World Senior Games, which start tonight in St. George for the 21st straight year. More swimmers than ever are entered in the various categories, which begin at age 50 and continue in five-year intervals to 95-99.

For longtime swimmers like Knowlton, it's a proud thing to see your sport gain heights of popularity unknown since the Mark Spitz era. But it can also be a bit daunting to see how many more challengers are showing up to compete.

"In my division, 75-to-79, we have full heats, six or more swimmers, in almost every event. We've never had that before," says Knowlton.

"I don't know," he sighs. "I may not win a single medal this time."

Bud's wife, Patti, rolls her eyes.

"He always says that," she says.

It would be big news if Bud Knowlton got shut out. He started in the World Senior Games' first swimming events in 1987, when he was a mere 58, he typically enters six events every year, and many years he's won all six. He always podiums. He's got more medals than West Point.

Not bad for a man who, at 79, continues to maintain a full-time dental practice in Salt Lake City.

But every October he cancels his appointments and takes off a couple of weeks to compete in the Huntsman Games and do his Michael Phelps unbeatable impression.

"Bud Knowlton typifies why these Games exist," said Jon Huntsman, the billionaire philanthropist who underwrites the St. George event that annually attracts 50-over athletes from every state and dozens of foreign countries. "He is a lifetime athlete and he brings a level of enthusiasm you'd be hard-pressed to find in athletes a third his age."

"I'm a participant," says Knowlton, taking a stab at a self-portrait. "I love the camaraderie and I love the competition. That's why I come."

And oh yeah, he loves to swim. He started swimming seriously as a student at the University of Utah, where he was a conference champion in the backstroke, and he's never stopped. He's at 60 years of laps and counting.

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