CRANBERRY TWP — The water has changed Janet McDonough’s life — again.

A highly competitive swimmer throughout her youth at Gateway High School and West Virginia University, McDonough admitted she was a bit burned out by the years of intense training. She got away from the sport after college.

Now 58 and living in Cranberry Township, McDonough got back into swimming at age 40 and eventually got involved in Senior Games competition.

“I missed the camaraderie and competition after a while,” she admitted. “When I get on the starting block for a meet now, I’m just as nervous as I was at the college national championships.

“You don’t lose that feeling.”

McDonough hasn’t lost her ability, either.

She owns three YMCA national records for the 55-59 age group — the 50, 100 and 200-meter backstroke. She set five national records for her age group at the 2013 Senior Games in Cleveland and broke three of her own marks at the 2015 Senior Games in Minneapolis.

“I learned about the National Senior Games from a fellow swimmer in the pool,” McDonough said. “I was interested in qualifying for the 2013 Games because they were being held nearby in Cleveland.

“Once I got there, experienced the atmosphere and saw all of the different sports, I was hooked. It became something I wanted to continue pursuing.

“The Senior Games promote health and wellness of seniors in all sports. Some of the swimmers, like me, have been in the sport since age 8. Others picked up the sport at age 50. But there are no elitists. Everyone is so respectful of each other. It’s fabulous,” McDonough added.

She will head to Hershey for a meet at the end of the month to qualify for the 2017 Senior Games in Birmingham, Ala. — and will do so with a tear in her shoulder.

McDonough thought she might need surgery on that shoulder, but a visit to Dr. Patrick DeMeo in Pittsburgh put an end to such thinking.

“Dr. DeMeo said he likes to keep athletes in motion,” McDonough said. “He put me to work on building muscle all around the shoulder. You modify what you can do as you get older. I can’t stand up on a bike because I have bad knees.

“I swim five or six days a week. Once you’re in the pool, there is no age. I can do what I want.”

Patty Sweetall, McDonough’s younger sister by two years, also swam competitively in high school and college. Now living in Louisville, Ky., she was talked back into the water by her big sister.

“I got into running for a long time as a way to stay fit, but I ran into knee and hip issues,” Sweetall said. “Janet has so much energy. She’s an amazing person and, yeah, she got me back into swimming.”

Sweetall has gone on to set national records of her own in the age 55-59 100 and 200-meter breaststroke. So while the sisters compete in the same age group, they never compete against each other.

“We swim different events,” McDonough said. “We like it that way. We root for each other.”

Because of McDonough’s dedication to well-being and staying fit, she was recently selected as a Humana Game Changer for serving as a role model to seniors.

McDonough admitted she’s never considered herself a “senior athlete.”

“When I was growing up, I’d think of a senior athlete as someone playing checkers in the park,” she said. “But I’ve seen people of all ages competing in all levels of swimming.”

Humana recognizes only 12 “Game Changers” nationwide. More than 10,000 athletes compete in the National Senior Games.

“It’s so flattering to receive this award,” McDonough said. “I’ve never thought of myself as a role model that way, but if I’m helping to inspire others to stay fit, I’m thrilled.

“I’ve trained and swam with people who have survived cancer, who have dealt with weight issues, etc. People get into this for different reasons.”

And once they get into it, they stay into it.

“You go to some of these competitions and you see people in their 70’s and 80’s competing in various sports,” Sweetall said. “It’s encouraging.”

When McDonough turns 60 in less than two years, she will be heading into a new five-year age group (60-64).

“I don’t feel like I’m getting older,” she said. “I’m looking forward to a whole new beginning.”