Theodora Taylor, Filp Nowacki Break British Junior Records in 100 Breast at OJI

2023 ONTARIO JUNIOR INTERNATIONAL

• December 14-17, 2023
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Short Course Meters (25 meters), 18 & Under/Open Para Categories
• Live Stream
• Meet Central
• Live Results (or on the SplashMe app)

After 14-year-old Amelie Blocksidge kicked off the Ontario Junior International (OJI) with a British junior record in the SCM 1500 freestyle on Thursday (15:48.49), two more young Brits broke national junior records in the 100 breaststroke on Friday at the Toronto PanAm Sports Centre.

At just 14 years old, Theodora Taylor blasted a 1:06.98 in the girls’ 100 breast to beat 15-year-old Halle West (1:07.19) by just a couple tenths of a second and take down the British junior record along the way. Taylor dropped more than two seconds off her entry time from last December (1:09.49), dipping under the British junior record of 1:07.21 by Kayla Van Der Merwe in 2018. With her runner-up finish, West was only about a second off the Canadian girls’ 15-17 national age group (NAG) record of 1:06.03 by Ashley McMillan in 2021.

British 16-year-old Filip Nowacki also fired off a new national junior record in the boys’ 100 breast, sneaking under the one-minute barrier for the first time in his career. He came into the meet with a lifetime best of 1:01.65 that he improved to 1:01.30 in prelims before ripping a 59.81 to lead the final. In the process, Nowacki knocked more than half a second off the previous British junior record of 1:00.47 clocked by Callum Melville in 2021.

Paul Dardis posted a personal-best 1:45.05 in the 200 free to beat University of Calgary Swim Club (UCSC) teammates Laon Kim (1:46.14) and Aiden Norman (1:46.35). Dardis, a 17-year-old Florida commit, shaved nearly a second off his previous-best. 1:45.89.

At the end of the session, the UCSC trio narrowly missed the club’s own boys’ 15-17 NAG record in the 800 free relay by .05 seconds with a runner-up finish in 7:10.85. Team Britain took the victory in 7:09.77 thanks to the quartet of Evan Davidson (1:48.45), Jacob Mills (1:47.23), Luke Hornsey (1:48.05), and David Annis (1:46.04).

Among the other bright spots for the Canadian squad was 18-year-old Ella Jansen, who pulled off an impressive 200 free/400 IM double. The Tennessee commit triumphed in the 200 free with a winning time of 1:55.06, dropping almost half a second off her previous-best 1:55.50 from last October. Then Jansen took the 400 IM title in 4:34.47, about four seconds off her personal-best 4:29.79 from last December.

A couple other future NCAA talents earned 1st-place finishes on Friday evening.

Michigan commit Lorne Wigginton, 18, won the 400 IM by more than two seconds with a personal-best 4:08.23. He shaved more than a second off his previous-best 4:09.71 from last December.

Miami commit Ashlyn Massey, 17, captured the 100 fly crown in 58.64, dropping exactly half a second off her previous-best 59.14 from 2021. Florida commit, previous-best 1:45.89