Two Days Before Her 16th Birthday, GB’s Amalie Smith Resets her 2nd Age Group Record

2025 World Junior Swimming Championships

• August 19-24, 2025
• Otopeni, Romania
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Meet Packet
• Team Leaders’ Guide
• SwimSwam Event Page
• SwimSwam Preview
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

GIRLS’ 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Finals

• World Record: 2:05.70 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• World Junior Record: 2:06.56 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
• Championship Record: 2:10.24 – Leah Hayes, USA (2023)

Top 8

1. Audrey Derivaux (USA) – 2:10.58
2. Amalie Smith (GBR) – 2:11.07
3. Shuna Sasaki (JPN) – 2:11.84
4. Zhou Yanjun (CHN) – 2:12.47
5. Noelle Benkler (GER) – 2:12.54
6. Misuzu Nagaoka (JPN) – 2:12.69
7. Agostina Hein (ARG) – 2:14.54
8. Heidi Shumack (AUS) – 2:14.88

While Audrey Derivaux of the USA used the fastest butterfly (27.88) and fastest backstroke (32.31) splits to build herself an insurmountable lead from which she would go from to win the Girls’ 200 IM at the 2025 World Junior Swimming Championships, she was nearly caught by the runner-up Amalie Smith of Great Britain.

Already a silver medalist from the 400 IM Smith added a second to her collection with her time of 2:11.07, which not only stands as a new PB but also as the fastest performance swum by any 15-year-old in British history.

Smith, 15, got the swim in just under the wire as she will celebrate her “Sweet 16” in just two days, on the 6th and final day of competition where she is entered to swim the 200 Freestyle. Her performance this evening of 2:11.07 undercut the previous best, also set by her of 2:12.62 from the 2025 European Junior Championships held last month in Samorin, Slovakia. Her time also undercuts the 16-year-old record of 2:11.86 set by Siobhan-Marie O’Connor back in 2012.

Comparison of Splits:

In the intervening seven-ish weeks, Smith has dropped over 1.5 seconds from her PB. Much of that difference can be attributed to the breaststroke where she dropped 1.20 seconds exactly, but also made gains in all of the other legs as well dropping .01 in the fly, .19 in the back and .17 in the freestyle.

This evening in Otopeni, Smith’s breaststroke was the major difference between a podium position and not. 8th after the fly and sitting in 6th after the back to breast transition (1:02.88) Smith’s 37.51 was the fastest 50 breaststroke split in the field and vaulted her up into 2nd place and cutting Derivaux’s lead by 1.94 seconds. Smith also out split Derivaux on the freestyle as her 30.68 was the second fastest split in the entire field, but such was the American’s lead that the .26 further gained still led to a margin of victory of .49.

Early in the meet, Smith’s silver medal performance in the 400 IM resulted in a time of 4:35.49, which like in this event smashed past her own PB and Age Group Record of 4:37.02 also set at the 2025 European Junior Championships. Much like in the 200 IM, Smith made up a good chunk of the 1.5 seconds split on the back half as she was just .57 under her own pace at the back to breast turn.

These results look to be good signs for her remaining events. As previously mentioned, she is entered in the 200 free on the last day, where she is seeded 17th with a time of 2:00.71. As the reporting form for records doesn’t ask for time of day or birth, Smith will be targeting the 16-year-old Age Group Record of 1:59.72 set by Georgina Boyle, 10 years ago. While a full second in the freestyle event may be a tall order, she did split 1:59.81 on Great Britain’s 800 Free Relay at European Juniors and coupled with her drops already, one should not put it past her.

The 200 free is not her lone event however, as Smith appears on the entry sheets as the 10th seed in the 200 breaststroke. Seeded at 2:28.61, .10 ahead of her compatriot Theodora Taylor, Smith will be aiming for the 15-year-old Age Group record of Lara Bate set back in 2015. Bate’s time of 2:26.55 has stood for 10 years but with Smith’s recent roll and improvements in the stroke, it could be under serious threat as Smith swims her last race as a 15-year-old.