"BUZZ"
BY NICOLE RODRIGUEZ-GASPEROV
Around Manhattan Beach if you hear the name Sippy, it’s usually followed by, “the Olympic swimmer”. Sippy Brennan earned her reputation as a top athlete breaking numerous American and World records, along with earning a silver medal in the 1984 Olympic games 200m freestyle. This highly trained competitor, now a single mother to 16-year old twins Jamie and Ryan, shares her life’s biggest challenges:
“At 16-years old, I was part of the 1980 Olympic team that boycotted the games. I had qualified in 6 events, that was tough. My first husband died in a car accident when I was 31, that hurt worse than the boycott. Now my husband, the father of our children has died, and it is beyond the worst experience of my life. To watch my children lose their father has been gut wrenching”
Last June, Chris “Buzz” Brennan was swimming at a pool in El Segundo as he did almost everyday, when he had a heart attack. He was rescued and taken to the hospital in an ambulance where he experienced another heart attack and went directly into surgery. Sippy got a call while out of town at their kids swim meet, and rushed back. But the 64-year old never recovered, and was put on life support for four days before passing away.
“The doctor said when he took him into surgery there was absolutely nothing he could do. One artery was 100% blocked, another was 70% blocked.”
Sippy said Chris never had a heart screening and had a horrible diet, two things they talked about, but she wasn’t going to change him. She, however, did have a heart screening after meeting Kori Clausen, a fellow spin enthusiast and the creator of this site. Sippy, who lost her first husband in 1995, said she and her friend Jan, who was also a widow, were at FitOn for a class, when Kori walked in and sat right behind them.
“The chance of being widowed at a young age is small, and for the three of us to be sat right next to each other in a spin class in Manhattan Beach is quite remarkable. Is that completely by chance? I’m not sure, sometimes I do think things happen for a reason.”
Clausen made announcements after class, advocating for heart screenings. This is something she did after her husband Clint died from a heart attack. Sippy said she scheduled a screening and was blown away with how smoothly the two hour appointment ran. Her concerns over a heart murmur and her dad’s deadly heart attack, were put to rest. In fact, she was told she had the heart of a 26-year old! She said she bounced home happy to tell her husband about the experience and that he should go too. Unfortunately, he didn’t care to be screened. In hindsight, Sippy wishes she bought it for him as a holiday gift because that way he would have done it.
“MY KIDS ARE FOREVER CHANGED BY THEIR DAD’S DEATH. I’LL NEVER GET THAT CHOICE BACK. THE DOCTORS WOULD HAVE SEEN THAT CHRIS WAS NOT HEALTHY”
Sippy hopes her story inspires others to get a heart screening, saying people owe it to themselves and their loved ones. She and her kids are starting to come out of their grief and are grateful for all the support from their family, friends, Chadwick School, Beach Cities Swim Team and The Gathering Place. But based on Sippy Brennan’s life experiences, her resilience and positive attitude will undoubtedly get them through anything.
“Once again people have helped me tie my bootstraps, so now it’s time to honor them and get hiking! I’ve always found that as long as I keep moving, things settle down and work out. It’s almost like having a grudge match with adversity, I’m going to win…because I’m not going to quit”.
Rio, Jamie, Ryan, Sippy, Baxter
Nicole Rodriguez-Gasperov is an Emmy-nominated news reporter whose media talents have taken her across the country. She got her start on the airwaves at UCLA and never looked back, working as an anchor/reporter for ABC, NBC and CBS network affiliates throughout the West Coast. After having her first child, Nicole took a respite from her news career and moved back home to Manhattan Beach, CA to raise a family. Nicole returned to news as a freelance reporter for Fox-11 News in Los Angeles before starting a venture as a travel writer for JohnnyJet.com. Her creative nature has also led her to launch Manhattan Beach Surplus, a locally designed and handcrafted jewelry and handbag line that she co-owns with her good friend.
“Writing can be the best therapy, for me it was so beneficial in my healing process and Paddle Out was the result” ~ Kori Clausen
Paddle Out is an inspiring look at combating life’s familiar struggles, the quest to find those things that can make us better, and how to overcome sudden tragedy when all that we know, all we depend on IS SUDDENLY RIPPED AWAY.