Irvine Novaquatics’ Sahiel Pai Breaks Three 11–12 Breaststroke NAG Records At Grand Challenge

2025 NOVA SPEEDO GRAND CHALLENGE

• May 23-25, 2025
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center Pool, Irvine, California
• Long Course Meters (50 meters)
• Results on Meet Mobile: “2025 CA 29th NOVA-Speedo Grand Challenge”

The 2025 NOVA Speedo Grand Challenge has been in full swing over the past two days, and wraps up tonight with the final session of racing. While Team USA stars such as Jack Alexy, Destin Lasco, and Brooks Curry have been making headlines, 12-year-old age group phenom Sahiel Pai has also made waves by breaking long-standing 11–12 boys’ National Age Group (NAG) records in the 50 and 100 breaststrokes.

Pai opened his meet on Friday morning with a massive career best of 31.73 in the 50 breast prelims, smashing his previous mark of 33.10. He had split that time on the first half of a 100 breast swim last week, where he narrowly dipped under his prior best of 33.15.

Later Friday evening, Pai lowered his 50 breast time even further, clocking 31.36 to break the previous NAG record of 31.62, set by T2 Aquatics’ Matthew Limbacher in 2013 at the T2 Norris Foundation Meet in Naples, Florida.

Prior to Friday, Pai ranked 71st in the age group for the 50 breast before skyrocketing to the top with his new record.

Top 5 American 11-12 Boys, 50 Breaststroke (LCM):

1. Sahiel Pai, Irvine Novaquatics — 31.36 (2025)
2. Matthew Limbacher, T2 Aquatics — 31.62 (2013)
3. Three-Way Tie
   1. Anthony Robinson, Unattached (1992) — 31.86
   2. Ethan Dang, King Aquatic Club (2014) — 31.86
   3. Daniel Baytin, X-Cel Swimming (2018) — 31.86

On Saturday morning, Pai was back in action in the 100 breast prelims, notching a time of 1:08.90—just under a tenth faster than the previous NAG mark of 1:08.96, set by Ethan Dang of King Aquatic Club in 2014 at the Pacific Northwest Championships in Federal Way, Washington.

Pai’s prelims splits were 32.01/36.89, but he had more in the tank for the final. There, he delivered a jaw-dropping 1:07.97, with splits of 31.88 and 36.09, blowing past the record, elevating the age group standard into a new tier—and nearly matching his newly minted 50 record on the front end in the process.

For reference, Dang split 32.23/36.73 when he set the previous record, meaning Pai, in finals, was 0.35 of a second quicker on the front end and 64 hundredths faster on the back end.

Top 5 American 11-12 Boys, 100 Breaststroke (LCM):

1. Sahiel Pai, Irvine Novaquatics — 1:07.97 (2025)
2. Ethan Dang, Kings Aquatic Club – 1:08.96 (2014)
3. Peter Vu, Irvine Novaquatics – 1:09.24 (2021)
4. Maverick Smalley, The Woodlands Swim Team – 1:09.48 (2000)
5. Wilson York, Lakeside Swim Team – 1:09.81 (2022)

Below is an Instagram post from Irvine Novaquatics celebrating Pai’s first record, along with race videos of all three of his record-breaking swims.

Record #1: 50 Breaststroke, 31.36 (race starts at 1:16:15 in the livestream):

Record #2: 100 Breaststroke, 1:08.90 (race starts at 59:15 in the livestream):

Record #3: 100 Breaststroke, 1:07.97 (race starts at 47:50 in the livestream):