American age group phenom Luka Mijatovic continued to rewrite the National Age Group Record books last weekend at the Pacific Swimming Far Western Championships in Pleasanton, Calif., setting a pair of new marks in the boys’ 15-16 age group.
After breaking the National Age Group Record in the 1650 freestyle on Friday, Mijatovic followed up with an incredible performance in the 500 free on Sunday, obliterating his record of 4:12.34 in a time of 4:10.96.
Compared to his previous record-setting swim, set in November, Mijatovic was more aggressive on the first 100, and then held a similar pace throughout the majority of the race before gaining nearly nine-tenths on his record pace over the last 150 yards, including closing in a blistering 24.11 on the last 50.
Split Comparison
| Mijatovic, Previous Record |
Mijatovic, New Record
|
| 23.58 | 22.96 |
| 48.87 (25.29) | 47.98 (25.02) |
| 1:14.37 (25.50) | 1:13.55 (25.57) |
| 1:39.83 (25.46) | 1:39.42 (25.87) |
| 2:05.26 (25.43) | 2:05.11 (25.69) |
| 2:30.83 (25.57) | 2:30.61 (25.50) |
| 2:56.48 (25.65) | 2:55.99 (25.38) |
| 3:22.16 (25.68) | 3:21.49 (25.50) |
| 3:47.72 (25.56) | 3:46.85 (25.36) |
| 4:12.34 (24.62) | 4:10.96 (24.11) |
RACE VIDEO
Despite being just 15, Mijatovic’s swim makes him the fastest swimmer in history in the boys’ 15-16 age group by more than four seconds, with former NAG record holder Drew Kibler a distant #2 in the age group rankings at 4:15.36.
Prior to turning 15, Mijatovic brought the boys’ 13-14 NAG record all the way down to 4:14.83, which made the NAG record in the 13-14 age group faster than the record for 15-16s before he aged up.
Early on at the Far Western Championships, Mijatovic clocked 14:37.63 in the 1650 free to take hold of the 15-16 NAG record in the event for the first time, surpassing Liam Custer‘s previous record of 14:37.86 set in 2020.
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