2024 Ontario Junior International
- December 12-15, 2024
- Toronto, Ontario
- Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
- SCM (25 meters)
- Meet Central
- Live Results
- Live Stream
Hyack Swim Club’s Shima Taghavi had a phenomenal performance during the opening session of the Ontario Junior International meet in Toronto, annihilating a National Age Group Record held by none other than Summer McIntosh.
Taghavi, 12, clocked 2:16.07 in the heats of the girls’ 200 IM, taking down McIntosh’s Canadian NAG for 11-12 girls of 2:17.03, which was set during a time trial in May of 2019 in Etobicoke.
SHIMA TAGHAVI – the 12yr old just DESTROYED Summer McIntosh‘s 200IM record (Canadian Age Group Record 12yr old) by almost a full second – in prelims.
SM (2:17.03) ST (2:16.07) #SwimOntario pic.twitter.com/JvoUFwHlbf— Emma Sachs (@emjsachs) December 12, 2024
Coming into the meet, Taghavi ranked 2nd all-time in age group history with her previous best time of 2:18.90, set last month at the Brad Reid Memorial meet in Coquitlam, British Columbia.
Relative to McIntosh, Taghavi loses significant ground on backstroke but makes up for it and then some on breaststroke, where she split 37.91 on Thursday, nearly four seconds quicker than McIntosh was in 2019.
Split Comparison – NAG Record
| McIntosh, 2019 | Taghavi, 2024 |
| 29.30 | 29.71 |
| 1:03.25 (33.95) | 1:05.77 (36.06) |
| 1:44.88 (41.63) | 1:43.68 (37.91) |
| 2:17.03 (32.15) | 2:16.07 (32.39) |
Compared to her previous best time, Taghavi made up her ground on the back half, gaining nearly a second and a half on breast and more than a second on free relative to where she was in early November.
Split Comparison – Taghavi’s PBs
| McIntosh, November |
Taghavi, December
|
| 29.96 | 29.71 |
| 1:05.90 (35.94) | 1:05.77 (36.06) |
| 1:45.28 (39.38) | 1:43.68 (37.91) |
| 2:18.90 (33.62) | 2:16.07 (32.39) |
The performance gives Taghavi three SCM Canadian NAG records in the girls’ 11-12 age group, already owning records in the 100 breast (1:09.85) and 200 breast (2:28.21), the latter being set at last month’s Brad Reid Memorial.
She also owns both breaststroke records for 11-12 girls in long course meters—1:10.78 in the 100 breast and 2:32.60 in the 200 breast.
Despite racing against swimmers up to five years older than her, Taghavi qualified fourth into tonight’s final of the 200 IM in Toronto, trailing 16-year-old Madison Kryger (2:12.78), 17-year-old Kamila Blanchard (2:13.85) and 16-year-old Shu Tong Du (2:15.29).
Taghavi’s record swim comes on the same day that McIntosh won gold and set a new world record in the women’s 200 fly at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest.
