2021 SPEEDO WINTER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS WEST
- December 8-11, 2021
- Jamail Texas Swim Center, Austin, Texas
- Short Course Yards (25 yards), Prelims/Finals
- Prelims: 9 am (ET)
- Finals: 5 pm (ET) – Wed. relays at 6 pm
- Meet Central
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- Friday Prelims Recap
GIRLS 400 IM
Meet record: Brooke Forde (Lakeside Seahawks): 4:02.51
- Katie Grimes (SAND), 15 – 4:00.66
- Justina Kozan (Una SET), 17 – 4:06.74
- Lucy Bell (Fort Collins), 17 – 4:10.78
Katie Grimes kicked off the Friday finals at the Speedo Winter Junior Championships Meet (West) by shattering the overall 400 IM SCY meet record with her time of 4:00.66. Grimes also easily defeated the West record, which was set at 4:05.25 by Ella Eastin in 2013.
Grimes’ splits:
| Butterfly | 25.79/28.99 |
| Backstroke | 29.47/29.25 |
| Breaststroke | 36.27/36.25 |
| Freestyle | 27.76/26.88 |
Grimes, who is just 15, broke Brooke Forde’s meet record of 4:02.51, but missed the 15-16 National Age Group record by 0.04 seconds. Grimes now sits as the No. 2 all-time in the age group, and the fastest 15-year-old by five seconds.
Top 15-16 Performers in the 400 IM (SCY)
- Dagny Knutson, Minot YMCA Swim Club, 2008: 4:00.62
- Katie Grimes, Sandpipers of Nevada, 2021: 4:00.66
- Katie Hoff, North Baltimore Aquatic Club, 2005: 4:03.46
- Meghan Small, York YMCA, 2015: 4:03.96
- Elizabeth Beisel, Bluefish Swim Club, 2008: 4:04.59
Grimes’ time also would have won the 400 IM at the NCAA Championships last season. The actual winner was senior Brooke Forde – whose meet record Grimes just broke – who swam the event in 4:01.57 for Stanford.
Among the other swimmers in the final, USC commit Justina Kozan took second with a time of 4:06.74, followed by Stanford commit Lucy Bell, who swam the event in 4:10.78. Kozan’s time makes her the eleventh-fastest 17-year-old of all time in the event.
4:00 with a 1:12+ breast split 😳
Watch out if she can knock a few (or even a couple) seconds off that split
Sandpipers have been on a roll this last year. They’re doing some incredible work with their high schoolers, including kids like Ilya Kharun who’s come out of NOWHERE in the last 4 months
Faster than Beisel and Hoff.
More records to come for Katie Grimes.
She’s gunning for the top spot in this event in long course version next year.
I’m more impressed with her going from an average breaststroke split to as fast or faster than what almost all the girls did on their last 50. Considering the first freestyle split clocks from the hand hit at the end of breaststroke to the feet hit at the flip turn, and the second split is vice versa.
Her final 50 in a 26??? wow
This swim is pretty insane and is going to get lost in all of the NAGs going on but sheesh.
Katie finding herself a replica of the Greg Troy “Teach a Primarily Long Axis Swimmer a Super Functional Breaststroke” System (TM) would instantly make her a contender on the world stage in this event.