15-Year-Old Nikol Popov Breaks 100 Yard Breast NAG at CIFSS Division I Finals

Nikol Popov, a sophomore at Valencia High School in Valencia, California, broke the girls’ 15-16 National Age Group Record in the 100 yard breaststroke on Saturday at CIF-SS Division I Finals in Riverside. Popov, whose best time coming into the meet was 1:00.62 from March 2015, knocked .39 off her PB to go a lifetime-best 1:00.23 in prelims on Thursday. She then came back to finals on Saturday and cleared 1:00 for the first time, clocking a 59.64 to win the event, and taking a whole second off her previous best. Although she missed Jessica Hardy’s Division I meet record of 59.20 dating back to 2005, Popov did break Lilly King’s NAG mark of 59.67, set in December 2013 at Winter Junior Nationals.

  • Nikol Popov, May 2015 – 28.04 / 31.60 = 59.64
  • Lilly King, December 2013 – 27.69 / 31.98 = 59.67

The most impressive thing about Popov’s swim is that she is still 15 and has a whole year to see how low she can take the record.

The 100 meter breast record is 1:07.05; Popov went 1:09.64 at Nationals last summer as a 15-year-old.

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Wirotomo
9 years ago

If she lived in Russia, her name would be Nikol Popova. 🙂

bobo gigi
9 years ago

Wow! Almost a full second drop! 15/16 NAG record at 15! Impressive!
And she showed last year she could swim fast in long course too.
We have a future breaststroke star in the making.
But being named Popov, it is only natural to shine in the pool. 🙂

Observation
9 years ago

Wow a National HS record (Weitzeil) and NAG record (Popov) from 2 swimmers on the same club team, Canyons Aquatic Club!

About Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant

Anne Lepesant is the mother of four daughters, all of whom swam in college. With an undergraduate degree from Princeton (where she was an all-Ivy tennis player) and an MBA from INSEAD, she worked for many years in the financial industry, both in France and the U.S. Anne is currently …

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