Remembering Bunny Cederlund

A long time member of the Florida Aquatic Combined Team, iconic Masters swimmer Bunny Cederlund passed away in 2011 at the age of 89, or “FINA 90” as she liked to think of it. Bunny (Agnes) Cederlund was the ultimate Masters swimmer, and her accomplishments can light the way for others who want a long life in swimming. Bunny was a great swimmer in her youth and returned to competition in the late 1980s.

According to her daughter Anne Cassidy, she had already planned out what she needed to do at the 2011 nationals in Auburn, Ala., to keep pace with her previous world record performances. During her career in Masters swimming, Cederlund achieved 234 individual Top 10 swims and 14 relay Top 10 listings. She was an individual All-American 13 times (11 pool AAs from 1992-2008 and two long distance listings from 2002-2003) and a relay All-American four times. To be named All-American, a swimmer must be listed as number one on the national Masters age group Top 10 list in an individual event and a relay must be listed as number one in a relay event. As of 2012, Bunny continues to hold 15 pool individual USMS records in three age groups. She dominated the USMS backstroke records from the 50 SCY to the 200 LCM in the 80-84 and 85-89 age groups. She still holds four FINA Masters world records—the 80-84 50-meter backstroke (LCM) and the 85-59 50-meter backstroke (SCM), 50-meter backstroke (LCM), and 100-meter backstroke (LCM).

Bunny was a natural athete. In addition to swimming, she enjoyed archery, boating, tennis, and golf. She was the mother of four, grandmother of seven, and great-grandmother of six children. She was married to Walt Cederlund, an Air Force officer, who gave her the nickname of “Bunny.”

Gold Coast Masters member Pat Sargeant noted that “Bunny was an amazing woman with some outstanding accomplishments” and that “she was a fantastic competitor, and lived life to the fullest.”