17-Year-Old Maximus Williamson Blazes 1:41.18 200 IM to Break Nolan’s NAG Record From 2011

2023 SPEEDO WINTER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS – WEST

• December 6-9, 2023
• FMC Natatorium, Westmont, Illinois
• Prelims: 9:00 am (CST)/ Finals: 5:00 pm (CST)
• Wednesday finals (relays only): 6:00 pm (CST)
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central (USA Swimming)
• How To Watch
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results or on Meet Mobile

Thursday evening heat sheets

Just about an hour after Thomas Heilman lowered his own Winter Juniors meet record in the 200-yard IM from 1:41.71 to 1:41.41 at the East edition in Columbus, Ohio, future University of Virginia teammate Maximus Williamson issued an emphatic response.

Williamson, 17, crushed a personal-best 1:41.18 to win the 200 IM by more than two seconds at Winter Juniors – West in Westmont, Illinois, taking almost a full second off his previous-best 1:42.07 from last year’s meet. The victory gave the Lakeside Aquatic Club standout the new meet record as well as the new U.S. boys’ 17-18 national age group (NAG) record, erasing David Nolan‘s 12-year-old standard of 1:41.39 from 2011.

Nolan’s 200 IM record was way ahead of its time, evidenced by the fact that it stood as the oldest NAG standard in the boys’ 17-18 age group by four years and the only swim in the top 10 from more than a decade ago. Before Nolan came along, the NAG record stood at 1:43.83 by Dan Trupin in 2002.

U.S. 17-18 Boys’ NAG Rankings

1. Maximus Williamson, 1:41.18 (2023)
2. David Nolan, 1:41.39 (2011)
3. Owen McDonald, 1:41.60 (2023)
4. Baylor Nelson, 1:42.01 (2021)
5. Ryan Murphy, 1:42.24 (2014)
6. Kieran Smith, 1:42.26 (2019)
7. Carson Foster, 1:42.43 (2019)
8. Raunak Khosla, 1:42.80 (2019)
9. Luca Urlando, 1:42.81 (2021)
10. Nate Germonprez, 1:42.82 (2022)

Williamson went 21.79 on the butterfly leadoff, 24.40 on the backstroke leg, 30.78 on the breaststroke leg, and 24.21 on the freestyle anchor.

Williamson’s time tonight would already rank 3rd in the NCAA this season behind Destin Lasco (1:40.16) and Hubert Kos (1:39.26), and he won’t arrive in Charlottesville with Heilman until the fall of 2025.

It was deja vu after Thursday night, when Williamson broke the 17-18 NAG record in the 200 free (1:32.00) just minutes after Heilman crushed Williamson’s previous 15-16 mark with a 1:32.46. These two are going to be a problem together in Charlottesville, and they still have nearly two years left before beginning their collegiate careers.

Day 2 Finals Livestream, Courtesy of USA Swimming: 

BOYS’ 200 YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS

• West Record: 1:42.07 – Maximus Williamson (2022)
• Meet Record: 1:41.71 – Thomas Heilman (2022)
• 13-14 NAG Record: 1:45.29 – Michael Andrew (2014)
• 15-16 NAG Record: 1:41.71 – Thomas Heilman (2022)
• 17-18 NAG Record: 1:41.39 – David Nolan (2011)

Final:

1. Maximus Williamson, Lakeside Aquatic – 1:41.18P
2. Cooper Lucas, Lakeside Aquatic – 1:43.88
3. Campbell McKean, Bend Swim Club – 1:44.23
4. Jake Eccleston, Fort Collins Area – 1:46.58
5. Tony Laurito, South Shore Sail – 1:446.83
6. Joe Polyak, Iowa Flyers Swim – 1:47.12
7. Logan Noguchi, Rose Bowl Aquatics – 1:47.25
8. Hudson Schuricht, Scottsdale Aquatic Club – 1:46.63