A Renaissance Man

Jeff Farrell was born in 1937 in Detroit, Michigan, and was raised in Wichita, Kansas. He and his father quickly understood that he had a passion for swimming when he plopped into the pool at 3 years old. His father had to jump in with his new business suit on to save him; after he was dried off, Jeff jumped right back in again. That started a long and illustrious career in swimming that has yet to end. He began with family swimming lessons at the age of 7 and later with a book on swimming. 

He experienced great success both in high school and college with his swimming, but the best was yet to come.

He received his BBA at the University of Oklahoma, then went into the U.S. Navy, which sent him to Yale to train for the 1960 Olympic trials under Yale’s long-time coach, Bob Kiphuth. During this time, Jeff set 20 national and international records, both individual and relay. In a short period of time, he had become the fastest swimmer in the world.

Six days before the U.S. Olympic trials were to begin, Jeff was rushed to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. After the operation, his surgeon said it would be six weeks before Jeff would be able to swim. But with the unique guidance of his coach, he swam in the trials and made the team as a relay swimmer. He won two gold medals, swimming anchor legs in both the 400-meter medley relay and 800-meter freestyle relay. Despite his operation, he was named the 1960 Outstanding American Swimmer and inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Life In Southeast Asia

But swimming was only chapter one. Chapter two begins after the Olympics, when he learned French in Paris, coached swimming in North Africa, and received an M.A. in international relations at Yale. The next 18 years he spent in Southeast Asia, first in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos, where he worked for CARE. He helped manage the doctors and nurses of Dr. Tom Dooley’s MEDICO, taken over by CARE after Dooley’s death, among other jobs at CARE.

In 1966-68, he worked in Thailand and Laos with The Asia Foundation. This was a meaningful time in his life for several reasons. It was during this time that he met the love of his life, and future wife, Gabrielle. They were married in 1969, in her sister’s garden in Bangkok. Then they spent 12 years developing a ready-to-wear fashion business in Bangkok.

In 1980, He and Gabrielle moved to California. He had not been swimming in all those years and he didn’t feel fit but felt a bit overweight, so Jeff began to swim again. He was 43 years old. He immediately became a successful competitor, this time in masters swimming.

Heart Valve Replaced

Here is where chapter three begins: In 1997, he went to see his doctor, Dr. Babji Mesipam in Santa Barbara, who noticed Jeff had a slight heart murmur and said this was a sign his aortic valve would start to lose its effectiveness. A few years later, after he felt dizzy, Gabrielle made him go see Dr. Douglas Duncan, which eventually led Jeff to see Dr. Phillip West, a well-respected Santa Barbara heart surgeon. Dr. West said it was time to get a new valve and told him about new replacement valve options: pig, cow, artificial, and human. After careful thought, he chose the cow option and the operation was set for two weeks hence.

The surgery took place December 12, 2005. Jeff’s aortic valve was replaced with an Edwards Lifesciences Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Magna valve.

During the operation, Dr. West also bypassed three coronary arteries. Because he was in such good shape before the surgery from swimming, Jeff’s recovery was rapid. In no time, he began to swim competitively for masters swimming – and sure enough, he again won races.

In mid-2007, a year and a half after his surgery, he broke the 50-meter freestyle world record for the 70 to 74 age group. This led to being inducted into the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame: the first swimmer to have done so in both that and the International Swimming Hall of Fame. Since Jeff’s double induction, there have been two more swimmers who have accomplished this.

Jeff continues to break both national and world records. In 2017, he set three national records in the 50-yard and 50-meter freestyle and one world record for 50-meter freestyle in his 80 to 84 age group.

Edwards Keynote Speaker

Last fall, Edwards Lifesciences invited Jeff to be their keynote speaker for an annual dinner for longtime employees. It was an emotional experience for both him and Gabrielle, because he met two of the women who actually sewed his aortic valve. There were tears all around; he has become an unofficial spokesperson for the company. 

His advice about growing older is that of a dedicated man striving to make his body, his mind, and his life the best he can. ”Be very aware of your body and its limits, but also its possibilities. Keep your mind vital and active. Mind and body help each other. There is always room for improvement.” He swims about a thousand yards a day, half of them sprinting. He walks instead of drives whenever he can.

Jeff and his son, Marco, are partners at Coldwell Banker in Montecito. The couple’s daughter, Caroline, and Dan Gallagher have a 4-year old daughter, Eloise, and fortunately, they live in Santa Barbara so Jeff and Gabrielle can be hands-on grandparents.

Farrell will proudly be representing Edwards Lifesciences at an FDA meeting sometime in February, to discuss artificial heart valves and their performance and endurance.

Jeff’s eyes light up when he talks about the swimmers in the 85 to 95 group and how they inspire him. I sense he pictures himself in that group setting even more records. Jeff says, “Master sports help many people live longer because they discover that even at a certain age, they can excel, even if they have never competed in sports before.” 

Dr. Dooley introduced him to a poem by Robert Frost. Both the doctor and poem were great sources of inspiration to Jeff for many years:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep
And miles to go before I sleep
And miles to go before I sleep.

Congratulations, Jeff, on a brilliant life – well lived, in all aspects.