Kaii Winkler Breaks National Age Group Record by 6 Seconds (VIDEO)

10-year old Kaii Winkler has broken his second National Age Group Record in two weeks.

Swimming in a time trial as the FGC Area 3 Developmental Championships in Pembroke Pines, Winkler put in a 5:08.77 in the 500 yard freestyle on March 4th. That improved upon the National Age Group Record of 5:14.14 set in 2012 by Ivan Puskovitch

On a windy day outdoors, Winkler’s splits were:

  • 57.70
  • 1:02.94
  • 1:03.49
  • 1:03.54
  • 1:01.10

A week earlier, Winkler broke one of the older records in the national age group record books – Mitch Stoehr’s 200 free from 2003.

Winkler also time-trialed a 200 IM, where he swam 2:12.86. That’s about half-a-second away from Chas Morton‘s legendary 1982 record of 2:12.29.

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Daniel Akre
6 years ago

Crazy good

uptown423
6 years ago

As a coach, just a question. Why not one stroke and THEN a breath off each wall? Taking NOTHING away from this accomplishment, because this swim is SICK. Turn work could get this kid under 5 easily.

Dirk
Reply to  uptown423
6 years ago

Hi there, thanx for your kind words and interest, Kaii is a very self motivated and in tune swimmer, I mean by that that he has a very good gage on time and understanding his own performance limits during his races and at this point he still makes a conscious decision to breathe right after each wall, he fears that it takes to much out of him and for him to be able maintain his pace. For now we are not pushing things on him that he does not take to naturally, we are trying to keep things fun for him and are convinced that he will keep working on all aspects of his swimming in the coming years. I… Read more »

Coach
7 years ago

Didn’t think you could break a national age group record in a time trial

BGNole97
7 years ago

We live in Texas, and since my son just turned 11, most of the time he is in the same age group as Kaii. For the last 2 or 3 years, my son has kept an eye on Kaii’s times on the USA Swimming website wondering how it is he could be so fast. But he used those times as motivation and proof of what was possible. This past summer, my son won the 400m state championship and set the Gulf LSC record (in addition to winning the 50, 100, and 200). The next day, I was checking the website and only then realized that he had beaten Kaii’s time by about half a second. I’ll never forget the look… Read more »

BGNole97
Reply to  BGNole97
7 years ago

Any of yall that “down voted” my comment care to elaborate as to why? I’m curious.

NEWTOSWIMSWAM
Reply to  BGNole97
7 years ago

I didn’t down vote your comment, and was very happy to see young swimmers excel in our sport. Don’t let my username fool you, I have been on this site long enough to know that people are very critical of parents who brag about their kids. You may not mean it, but people may misinterpret your comment NOT as a compliment to Kaii but a showing off of your kid. Let the kids enjoy the sport and keep things in perspective. Stay humble, my friend!

BGNole97
Reply to  NEWTOSWIMSWAM
7 years ago

OK I get it. I was just trying to point out that even though he won those events, seeing that he was now as fast (at least in one event) as someone that he had seen as “unreal” before meant just as much, if not more, to him.

NEWTOSWIMSWAM
Reply to  BGNole97
7 years ago

Sounds like your kid is self-motivated. But as parents, we need to keep things in perspective and let them have fun. Kaii is a super fast 10-yr-old but an elite HS or a top tier college swimmer would lap him twice (!) in 5FR.

BGNole97
Reply to  NEWTOSWIMSWAM
7 years ago

To summarize your point: “Yeah 10 yr old so and so is fast, but a top 18 yr old is WAY faster.” You don’t say!

For most people, setting a goal, working towards it, and achieving it is fun. And when you do something that at one point you never thought would be possible, I don’t care who you are or what age you are or what capacity it is in, that is fun. Then you set another goal and go for it, now armed with the confidence of already having achieved a previous goal. Isn’t that one of the things we’re trying to teach our kids through sport?

Kids swim with faster kids from other age groups all… Read more »

NEWTOSWSWAM
Reply to  BGNole97
7 years ago

I get your point of goal-setting, fun is in the journey, etc. My main point was “keep things in perspective.” I have gone thru AG to HS to College (twice in the past 15 years) with my kids (one was elite, one wasn’t) and have seen it all. Stats show that none of or very few top 10&U swimmers (esp on the Boys’ side) become top (100) at 18. Hope kids like Kaii and your son continue to swim fast and become an exception other than another stat. Swimming fast is fun and it’s fun when you swim fast. Enjoyed our discussion and best wishes!

BGNole97
Reply to  NEWTOSWSWAM
7 years ago

Yes, we’re very aware of the prevalence of burnout in swimming and so is our son. The coaches have a long-term mindset and he appreciates and understands it. He broke his arm badly in October and required surgery and pins to repair it. His three months away from being able to train fully was tough on him, but it just showed him how much he loves it and needs it. Our older daughter was the first into swimming, and she still loves it, but is also very much into art and band. Trust me, we’re not sitting here cracking the whip on either of them, we’re just enjoying watching them do their thing, supporting them, and appreciating the ability to… Read more »

Dirk Winkler
Reply to  BGNole97
7 years ago

Great:) I will let Kaii know that he inspired your son!
Cheers,
Dirk

BGNole97
Reply to  Dirk Winkler
7 years ago

Thanks! Please do. We’ll actually be down in Ft. Myers at the end of April for the Open Water Festival. Are yall planning to attend?

bobo gigi
7 years ago

Congrats.

nihongo sensei
7 years ago

Chas Morton!!! Was the NAG King until Michael Andrew… Before the internet, we read swimming mags and Chas had like 83 records..

big calves
Reply to  nihongo sensei
7 years ago

The absolute king

RacePaceSwimming
Reply to  nihongo sensei
7 years ago

Chas is STILL the King. No disrespect to MA – but Chas did it when he competed against other 10/11/12 year olds in the pool – NOT in a TT, NOT wearing a cap, NOT shaved (yep – he was already growing hair at age 11), and NOT wearing a tech suit.
A lot of MA records were recorded when he mapped out the days/weeks before he aged up and many were TT’s. There’s something about setting an age group record when you’re swimming against 7 other kids in the pool. These days, MA’s records have slowed considerably because he’s actually swimming in competitions against swimmers that are faster than him.

Maybe USA Swimming should disallow TT records… Read more »

SwimGeek
Reply to  RacePaceSwimming
7 years ago

I have no idea how many MA records were TT vs. regular races — but I have trouble believing he would have had any trouble competing against other 10-11-12 yr olds. Given how far ahead he was, it would be very much like at TT — he’d be virtually swimming alone.

Joe Bagodonuts
Reply to  RacePaceSwimming
7 years ago

“No disrespect to MA” – and then you go on to disrespect him and his records. You try to allege why his time in an event is somehow less of an achievement than someone else’s time. That’s the beauty of swimming – two swimmers do not have to be in the same location at the same time to compare their performances. That’s what makes swimming one of the few sports where actual comparisons are possible (as opposed to those sports where judges score a performance – like figure skating, diving, gymnastics – so there are subjective elements involved). The pace of MA’s record-setting has slowed at least in part because he is no longer competing against just other kids in… Read more »

RacePaceSwimming
Reply to  Joe Bagodonuts
7 years ago

Wow…..touched a nerve. Must be part of the “fan club”.

Sccoach
7 years ago

Even with the age, a kid having a chance at a NAG is a rare opportunity, you have to let him go for it as much as he wants. As long as the coach isn’t forcing him to do this, I have absolutely no problem with it. Good job to Kaii and his coach

Ivan Puskovitch
7 years ago

Congratulations on breaking my record! It’s about time it has gone down. You split it great and have a bright future in distance freestyle! Keep it up. Side note: it’s “Puskovitch”, not “Puskavoitch”.

Aquatics
Reply to  Ivan Puskovitch
7 years ago

Congratulations to Kaii on breaking your NAG and classy of you to congratulate him, Ivan. I remember when you broke that and the brief you wore:-)

Dirk Winkler
Reply to  Ivan Puskovitch
7 years ago

Thank you Ivan!
I will show Kaii your comment!
Cheers,
Dirk

Ivan Puskovitch
Reply to  Dirk Winkler
7 years ago

I look forward to seeing him in the national rankings in the coming years! I hope he continues with this path of success.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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