Josh Liendo, Ahead of Luca Urlando’s Pace, Drops 52.1 LCM 100 Fly in Quebec

2019 SPEEDO CANADIAN EASTERN CHAMPIONSHIPS

  • April 11-14, 2019
  • Quebec, Canada
  • LCM
  • Results

A big weekend in Quebec has Canadian teenagerย Josh Liendoย looking sharper than any American his age. Ever.

Swimming the 100 fly, his best event, Liendo broke his own 15-17 Canadian age group record with a time of 52.13. That puts the 16-year-old ahead of Americanย Luca Urlando, whose 52.40 marks the fastest 100 fly swum by a 16 & under in American history.

2018 was Urlando’s big year– at 16, he broke the 100m fly long course NAG record for the 15-16 age group, which belonged toย rising starย Michael Andrew. He also broke Michael Phelps‘s NAG in the 200y fly,ย Destin Lasco‘s NAG in the 100y back (which has since been broken byย Anthony Grimm) and Andrew’s NAG in the 100y fly. In 2019, he’s already smashed Caeleb Dressel‘s NAG in the 200m free, and this summer holds high expectations for what he might be able to do.

This weekend, though, Canadians can say something they rarely (if ever) can say, at least on the men’s side: they have the upper hand over the juggernaut that is American swimming (in one event for one age category). It’s small, but it’s something.

This is all to put Liendo’s swim in context, though, more than to try to ignite a border battle in which the U.S. would easily win, all things considered. American NAG record holders (especially in the 15-16 and 17-18 categories) are typically the select few swimmers who go on to win Olympic medals, break World Records, and create incredible legacies. To be faster than an American NAG record, especially one held by someone who definitely has the makings of a star, is a huge deal.

Liendo’s 52.13 from this weekend was a drop of seven tenths from his own 15-17 Canadian NAG, and he’s starting to bring the senior national record well within striking distance. That mark is a 51.83 held by temporary Canadianย Santo Condorelli, exactly three tenths away.

It was a huge weekend for Liendo otherwise, as he went 1:50.62 in the 200 free (a five-second drop) and 2:00.52 in the 200 fly (a two-and-a-half-second drop), as well as adding a 49.41 400 free relay anchor as his team, North York Aquatic Club, broke the 15-17 age group record in that event.

The Canadian women are a few years into a renaissance of talent that has produced international medal threats likeย Taylor Ruck andย Penny Oleksiak to go alongside their more senior counterparts likeย Kylie Masse,ย Sydney Pickrem, andย Kierra Smith. There are plenty of more names in the works, too. With ongoing drops from young men like Liendo, Gabe Mastromatteo, and Cole Pratt, perhaps the rumblings of a rise on the men’s side suggest something similar is coming next.

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Peyton
4 years ago

Urlando broke Carson Foster’s 200m free 15-16 NAG, not Dressel’s. Foster broke Dressel’s NAG. https://swimswam.com/carson-foster-takes-down-dressels-15-16-nag-in-200-free-in-fiji/

Wow
4 years ago

๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿ’ช

krbcan
4 years ago

I think he has at least several more months before he turns 17, so he has more time to continue to lower his record.

EliteSwimmer93
4 years ago

A 16-year-old going 52.13 in the 100FL LCM is insane. Is that a 16 & under World Record?

Seems as though Canada might have a really good medley relay for 2020…and a very young one at that. 2024 is looking even more promising.

nuotofan
4 years ago

Canadian mens 400 medley relay: Cole Pratt in the back, Gabe Mastromatteo in the breast, Joshua Liendo in the fly, Markus Thormeyer in the free looking very promising.

Yabo
4 years ago

How do you go 52 in the 100 fly and 1:50 in the 200free but only 2:00 in the 200fly? Still impressive though

Hmm...
Reply to  Yabo
4 years ago

Ask MA….

Science Geek
4 years ago

He’s slightly fast

Santocondorelli biggest fan
4 years ago

Cole Pratt gold 2024

AnEn12
Reply to  Santocondorelli biggest fan
4 years ago

1) Are you still a Condorelli fan?
2) In which event is Pratt supposed to win gold? From the times I see here
https://swimswam.com/cole-pratt-wins-11-emma-ocroinin-6-at-western-canadian-championships/
I get the feeling that the 100/200 back are by far his best events and someone like Kolesnikov will only be 24 by 2024. I have a hard time seeing anyone beating him come Paris + Rylov and Murphy won’t even be 30 by 2024.

The Ready Room
Reply to  AnEn12
4 years ago

I have a hard time seeing ANYTHING as far out as 2024.

About Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon

Karl Ortegon studied sociology atย Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, graduating in May of 2018. He began swimming on a club team in first grade and swam four years for Wesleyan.

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