17-Year-old Nick Simons Nails 54.52 Back, Now No.9 All-Time 17-18

2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS

Day 2 Prelims Recap

During heat 3 of the men’s 100 back prelims on day two of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, 17-year-old Nick Simons of the Sandpipers of Nevada put up a massive lifetime best to blast from the 41st seed to qualifying 16th into tonight’s semi-finals. Simons’ time has now cracked the all-time top 10 times in the 17-18 age group and among all US 17-year-olds in history.

Entering the meet, Simons’ lifetime best was a 55.51 from the 2020 U.S. Open meet, which placed 7th overall. Simons split his race in 26.48/28.04, swimming his closing 50 three-tenths faster than 14th- and 15th-place qualifiers Harvard alum Dean Farris (28.33, 54.27) and NC State alum Coleman Stewart (28.34, 54.45).

Looking at the all-time 17-18 age group rankings, Simon’s time now registers him as the 9th-fastest performer in age group history, now just 0.01s behind Texas A&M’s Shaine Casas‘ 17-18 best (54.51). Among 17-year-olds in US history, Simons is now the 4th-fastest performer, out-swimming Michigan’s Wyatt Davis (54.73) and Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol (54.80) at the same age.

ALL TIME TOP 100 AGE GROUP TIMES – MEN’S 100 BK LCM – 17-18

  1. Ryan Murphy, 53.38 (2013)
  2. Michael Taylor, 53.77 (2016)
  3. Will Grant, 53.89 (2019)
  4. Jack Conger, 54.04 (2013)
  5. Wyatt Davis, 54.14 (2019)
  6. Aaron Peirsol, 54.47 (2002)
  7. Jacob Pebley, 54.49 (2012)
  8. Shaine Casas, 54.51 (2018)
  9. Nick Simons, 54.52 (2021)**
  10. Jack Aikins, 54.59 (2020)

All-Time U.S. 17-Year-Old Rankings – Men’s 100 BK LCM

  1. Ryan Murphy, 53.38 (2013)
  2. Michael Taylor, 53.77 (2016)
  3. Jack Conger, 54.07 (2012)
  4. Nick Simons, 54.52 (2021)**
  5. Wyatt Davis, 54.73 (2019)
  6. Aaron Peirsol, 54.80 (2001)

Reported by Jared Anderson.

MEN’S 100 BACK – PRELIMS

  • World Record: Ryan Murphy (USA) – 51.85 (2016)
  • American Record: Ryan Murphy (USA) – 51.85 (2016)
  • US Open Record: Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 51.94 (2009)
  • World Junior Record: Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) – 52.53 (2018)
  • 2016 Olympic Champion: Ryan Murphy (USA) – 51.97
  • 2016 US Olympic Trials Champion: Ryan Murphy – 52.26
  • Wave I Cut: 56.59
  • Wave II Cut: 55.51

Top 16 Qualifiers:

  1. Bryce Mefford (SMST) – 52.99
  2. Justin Ress (WOLF) – 53.07
  3. Shaine Casas (TAMU) / Ryan Murphy (CAL) – 53.08
  4. Hunter Armstrong (OSU) – 53.28
  5. Matt Grevers (CLCK) – 53.65
  6. Michael Andrew (RPC) – 53.66
  7. Hunter Tapp (NCS) – 53.77
  8. Will Grant (VS) / Adam Chaney (FLOR) – 53.96
  9. Jack Aikins (SA) – 54.16
  10. Daniel Carr (PPA) – 54.18
  11. Nicolas Albiero (UOFL) – 54.21
  12. Dean Farris (VS) – 54.27
  13. Coleman Stewart (WOLF) – 54.45
  14. Nick Simons (SAND) – 54.52

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Papa Chris & Andrew
3 years ago

Hooray for Nick!

SwimMAX90
3 years ago

Aikins went 54.16 for #6 all-time. Putting Simons 10th all-time. Both great swims!

Mary M.
3 years ago

Way to go, Nick! So fun watching you at Jesuit and now OT. So proud of all your hard work to get to your goal. We will be cheering you on tonight!

Snarky
3 years ago

He was pumped. Did the primal scream and a fist pump, which was well deserved! Nice swim.

Laneline
3 years ago

Beautiful swim for Nick and it looked so smooth!! Pure joy on his face at end! Very cool to advance to semis. The teenage Sandpiper girls seem to be struggling but hopefully enjoying the experience and settle in as trials goes on.

VFL
3 years ago

Way to go Nick!! 🍊

About Nick Pecoraro

Nick Pecoraro

Nick has had the passion for swimming since his first dive in the water in middle school, immediately falling for breaststroke. Nick had expanded to IM events in his late teens, helping foster a short, but memorable NCAA Div III swim experience at Calvin University. While working on his B.A. …

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