Aiden Norman Becomes Fastest 16-Year-Old Canadian With 1:53.6 200 Back (SCM)

2022 FINA WORLD CUP – TORONTO

• Friday, October 28 – Sunday, October 30, 2022
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC), Toronto, Canada
• SCM (25 meters)
• Start Times
  • Prelims: 9:30 am local (ET)
  • Finals: 6:00 pm local (ET)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results (Omega)
• Live Stream (FINA YouTube)

The second leg of the FINA World Cup series kicked off on Friday morning from Toronto, with the event presenting a unique opportunity for some of Canada’s top age group swimmers to get some experience racing against an international field.

One swimmer who took full advantage during the first preliminary session was Aiden Norman, a University of Calgary Swim Club product who represented Canada at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in August.

In the prelims of the men’s 200 back, Norman won the opening heat in a time of 1:53.66, slaughtering his personal best time to become the fastest 16-year-old in Canadian history.

He overtakes Olympian Cole Pratt (1:54.27) for the top spot, stealing his Alberta Provincial 15-16 Age Group Record in the process. Norman also lowered his lifetime best by nearly four seconds, having previously been 1:57.64 in December 2021.

Relative to his old best time, Norman was much more aggressive on the front-half, out in a blistering 55.51 at the 100-meter mark compared to 58-flat last season. This comes on the heels of him setting a new best time of 54.18 in the 100 back earlier this month at the UCSC Fall Start Up.

Split Comparison

All-Time Canadian Boys’ 16-Year-old Rankings, 200 Backstroke (SCM)

1. Aiden Norman (University of  Calgary Swim Club), 1:53.66 – 2022 FINA World Cup – Toronto
2. Cole Pratt (Cascade Swim Club), 1:54.27 – 2018 Ontario Junior International
3. Tobias Oriwol (Etobicoke Swim Club), 1:56.74 – 2002 Speedo Youth & Junior Nationals
4. Markus Thormeyer (Winskill Dolphins), 1:57.45 – 2013 Thunderbolt Junior International
5. Jeffrey Swanston (Newmarket Stingrays), 1:57.86 – 2010 Paul Bergen Junior International

Although he won’t turn 17 until March, Norman now sits second all-time in the Canadian 15-17 age group rankings, with Pratt owning the NAG record of 1:51.30 from back in 2019. Overall, Norman is now the 10th-fastest Canadian in history.

All-Time Canadian Boys’ 15-17 Rankings, 200 Backstroke (SCM)

1. Cole Pratt (Cascade Swim Club), 1:51.30 – 2019 Ontario Junior International
2. Aiden Norman (University of  Calgary Swim Club), 1:53.66 – 2022 FINA World Cup – Toronto
3. Javier Acevedo (Ajax Swimming), 1:54.86 – 2015 Age Group International
4. Nicholas Sinclair (UVIC VIKES Swim Team), 1:55.09 – 2009 Canada Games
5. Matthew Swanston (Newmarket Stingrays), 1:55.47 – 2008 Canada Cup

Norman will have a chance to further improve his newly-minted best time in the final, having advanced fifth overall. Polish swimmer Kacper Stokowski leads the pack with his time of 1:52.18, while American Shaine Casas (1:52.53), Czech Tomas Franta (1:52.90) and fellow Canadian Javier Acevedo (1:53.11) sit second, third and fourth.

Norman, who led off the NAG record-setting UCSC boys’ 15-17 400 medley relay (LCM) back in April, placed sixth in the 200 back at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacs, setting a long course best of 2:01.73 which ranks him fourth among 16-year-old Canadians. He also earned a second swim in the 100 back (11th) and led off Canada’s fourth-place finishing 400 medley relay.

Norman is also scheduled to race the 100 IM at the end of the session. Follow along with the live recap here.