13-Year-Old Antoine Destang Rips 25.36 50 Fly At 2021 Summer FLAGS

2021 Fl Summer Age Group Championships – North & South

• July 15-18, 2021
• NORTH: Jacksonville, FL
• SOUTH: Sarasota, FL
• Long Course Meters (50m)
• Meet Central
• Full Results – NORTH
• Full Results – SOUTH

The 2021 Florida Summer Age Group Championships (FLAGS) took place over the weekend, with the competition split into North and South sections, held in Jacksonville and Sarasota, respectively.

The Bolles School Sharks won the combined team title at the North meet, while the Sarasota Tsunami Swim Team came out on top at the South meet.

At the North meet, the top swim came from Bolles School’s Antoine Destang, who clocked 25.36 in the boys’ 50 butterfly at just 13 years old.

Destang entered the meet with a best time of 27.15 set back when he was 11 in early 2020, and then recorded a 25.76 in the prelims before dropping that 25.36 in the final.

Destang is a native of Saint Lucia, has spent time training in Canada, and according to this 2019 article (written when he was 11), has eyes on the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

The swim is the fastest from a 13-year-old that USA Swimming’s database has on record, passing Bulgaria’s Josif Miladinov, who went 25.63 at that age.

In addition to placing first in the boys’ 13-14 50 fly, Destang also won the 100 fly (57.28), was third in the 50 back (29.76), fifth in the 100 free (55.96), 10th in the 200 free (2:04.05), and swam on five BSS relays.

OTHER NOTABLE SWIMS

• The boys’ 11-12 800 freestyle saw standout swims at both the North and South meets, with 12-year-old Colin Jacobs clocking 8:53.14 in Sarasota and fellow 12-year-old Owen Ekk going 8:53.92 in Jacksonville. The two now rank fifth and seventh in U.S. 11-12 age group history. Ekk also went 4:14.78 in the 400 free, the second-fastest ever in 11-12 history.
• In the 13-14 age group, Ryan Erisman of Laker Swim put up a time of 8:29.71 for 66th all-time.
• Two Bolles School teammates of Destang, Louis Joos and John McNamara, had strong swims in the boys’ 13-14 200 breaststroke. McNamara, 14, clocked 2:22.94, while Joos hit 2:26.68 at 13. McNamara moves into 30th all-time in the boys’ 13-14 age group. McNamara also moves into 54th all-time in the 100 breast (1:06.75).
• The top swim power points-wise among girls came from 11-year-old Brinkleigh Hansen of Saint Petersburg Aquatics, who clocked 9:47.86 in the 800 freestyle.