Jim Donaldson: Former R.I. Olympian offers praise for Beisel

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, August 3, 2008 Clara Lamore Walker — who competed in the 1948 Olympics — may be 82 years old, but she swims thousands of yards almost every day. The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer A lot of water has splashed over the side of the pool since Rhode Island last sent a swimmer to the Olympic Games. It’s been 60 years … six decades … a lifetime, really. There’s no more graphic illustration of how long ago it was and how dramatically times (including those recorded by the swimmers) have changed than to look at Elizabeth Beisel today, in her high-tech, Speedo LZR Racer suit, as she prepares for the Games of the XXIXth Olympiad this month in Beijing. And then to think of Clara Lamore, swimming lap after lap at the Olneyville Boys Club wearing a cotton suit that absorbed water as she trained to go to the... [read full story]