arena Swim of the Week: 14-Year-Old Wilson York Hits 2:18.0 200 Breast At Knoxville PSS

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Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.

It’s not uncommon for standout age group swims to fly under the radar at events that feature some of the world’s best, and that happened last weekend at the Knoxville Pro Swim.

While the likes of Summer McIntosh and Katie Ledecky were stealing the headlines, Wilson York delivered one of the fastest swims we’ve ever seen from a 14 & under swimmer in the men’s 200 breaststroke.

York, 14, dropped a time of 2:18.08 in the ‘B’ final of the event on Saturday, placing 14th in a field where only three of the top 24 were 16 or younger.

Representing the Lakeside Swim Team out of Kentucky, York’s swim improved on his previous best of 2:18.30, set while he was just 13 at last summer’s NCSA Spring Championships (which made him the fastest 13-year-old ever).

One month earlier, he cracked 2:20 for the first time at the NAC Summer Sizzler (2:19.61), which broke him into the top 10 all-time in the boys’ 13-14 age group, and his NCSA swim launched him up to #4.

Split Comparison

While his performance on Saturday didn’t move him up any more slots in the all-time ranks, it does show he’s continuously improving, and it’s even more impressive to do so in what is typically a slower month, in-season racing, for most swimmers.

All-Time U.S. Performers, Boys’ 13-14 200 Breaststroke (LCM) 

1. Ethan Dang, 2:15.84 – 2016
2. Reece Whitley, 2:16.48 – 2014
3. Josh Matheny, 2:17.73 – 2017
4. Wilson York, 2:18.08 – 2024
5. Liam Bell, 2:19.09 – 2015
6. Jake Foster, 2:19.19 – 2015
7. Matt Fallon, 2:19.73 – 2017
8. Xavier Ruiz, 2:20.38 – 2021
9. Gunnar Bentz, 2:20.48 – 2010
10. Jack Wroblewski, 2:20.75 – 2023

York also came within a tenth of his lifetime best in the 100 breast in Knoxville, clocking 1:04.19, and also raced the 200 IM (2:10.25) and 400 IM (4:36.87).

His personal best times currently rank 7th (100 breast – 1:04.09), 25th (200 IM – 2:08.34) and 55th (400 IM – 4:36.11) in the 13-14 age group.

York will have plenty of runway to take aim at Ethan Dang‘s NAG record of 2:15.84 in the 200 breast this year, as he won’t age up until after the long course season concludes.

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