Reid Maxwell broke a Paralympic World Record in the 1500 meter freestyle at the Edmonton Keyano International, which took place in Edmonton, Canada from July 3rd through July 6th. The 17-year-old from Canada added to his already impressive resume, which boasts five national records, as well as a silver medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris last summer.
Maxwell’s time of 17:33.10 smashed the previous World Record, a 17:42.44 set in 2021 by American Matthew Torres. Maxwell dropped over 30 seconds from his previous best time of 18:06.37, which he achieved back in March.
With this new World Record, Maxwell is now the fastest miler out of the S8 Para Swimming Classification. With a wide array of athletes eligible to compete as a Paralympian, World Para Swimming is organized into many different classifications, based on the type of condition the athlete experiences. The S8 Classification is for athletes who have full use of their arms and torso, though have only partial function of their legs. Maxwell — who was born missing part of his right leg — falls under this category, and competes with other athletes who meet these parameters.
While this may have been his first World Record, Maxwell has had a lot of success throughout his young career. At the 2024 Paralympic Swimming Trials, Maxwell broke Canadian records in the 100 and 400 freestyle, the 100 butterfly, the 100 backstroke, and the 200 individual medley, which allowed him to compete at the Paralympic Games in all five events. His best finish came in the 400 freestyle, where he took home the silver medal.
Maxwell also swam the 100 freestyle, the 100 butterfly, and the 200 back in Edmonton earlier this month. While his 1500 marked the only personal best of the meet, his contribution helped his club, Edmonton Keyano Swim Club, win the men’s team high point award. On the women’s side, Edmonton Keyano finished second behind the University of Calgary’s Club Team.
Other Highlights
- Rising high school Junior Taylor Ginther won seven of her eight events en route to being crowned the women’s high point Champion. 13-year-old Bennett Thiessen — who finished in the top two in all eight of his events — won it on the men’s side.
- Payton Kelly, a rising Senior at Ball State, won both the 50 and 100 freestyle, with times of 26.25 and 57.22, respectively. She also led off the 200 medley relay with a time of 29.72. All of these are season bests, and her times in the 50 free and 50 back are qualifying times for Canadian Trials.
- Calgary’s Aiden Norman went a season-best 1:51.37 in the 200 free. The Florida Gator is best known for his backstroke dominance at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships.
Team Standings
Girls’ Top 5
- University of Calgary – 3514
- Edmonton Keyano Swim Club – 2863.5
- Cascade Swim Club – 2808.5
- SilverRays – 1002
- Olympia Swimming Club – 958
Boys’ Top 5
- Edmonton Keyano Swim Club – 3081
- Cascade Swim Club – 2658
- University of Calgary – 2312.5
- Olympia Swimming Club – 1723
- Grande Prairie Piranhas – 1182.5
Sara Houseman, USA, just swam at the international Transplant Games. She’s the first double lung transplant swimmer to do so. Due to COVID, both lungs had to be transplanted TWICE.