WATCH: Luka Mijatovic’s 4:10.96 500 Free & 14:37.63 1650 Free 15-16 NAG Record-Breaking Swims

by Sean Griffin 12

April 10th, 2025 Club, News, Race Videos

2025 Pacific Swimming Far Western Championships

  • Pleasanton, California
  • April 3-6, 2025
  • SCY (25 Yards)
  • Live Results Available on Meet Mobile: “Pacific Swimming SC Far Western Championships”

If you’re a fan of swimming, you almost certainly read about 15-year-old Luka Mijatovic breaking two National Age Group records this past week.

Mijatovic dipped under his own records in both the 1650 and 500-yard freestyles at the Pacific Far Western Championships, taking two-tenths off his own mark in the longer distance before crushing his 500 record by 1.38 seconds. These two swims represented his 14th and 15th individual National Age Group records.

The 15-year-old from the Pleasanton Seahawks is America’s best distance talent in generations. His new 500 free record time of 4:10.96 would have placed 11th at last week’s NCAA Championships, while his 1650 free time of 14:37.63 would would have earned him a 12th-place finish.

Mijatovic turns 16 on April 22nd, giving him another full year to continue wreaking havoc on the 15-16 record books in both short course yards and long course meters.

You can read more details about each of the swims in the articles below.

Related Articles:

While race videos weren’t available at the time, they are now, thanks to SwimClips CEO Bob Griswold providing them to SwimSwam. For more information on SwimClips, visit their website at swimclips.com.

500 Freestyle Race Video:

1650 Freestyle Race Video:

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Beverly Drangus
1 day ago

Crazy production effort/viewer experience ratio.

How tall is this guy? He looks 7ft in the water

Todd Dihhsorbo
2 days ago

He will make an excellent addition to the Philippe lucas training group

Marvin Beak
2 days ago

hes so cool i love luka go luka!!!! omg!!! pmo!!!!!!

Charley Groen
2 days ago

Did he split a roughly 10 second last 25? Cuckooooo

47.84
2 days ago

His IM and Fly are improving very rapidly as well. This dude is tailor made to be the next Bob bowman ultrastar. He’s coached incredible freestylers and incredible middle distance swimmers, but he’s never really had a star 400 freestyler (tho Phelps probably coulda been if he had given more than one half a$$ed attempt post Olympic year in 05)

Is it wild to say His 200 fly drop and 400 IM improvement are more impressive to me than his 1650?

That 500 is otherworldly regardless.

Last edited 2 days ago by 47.84
KSW
Reply to  47.84
2 days ago

I really hope he focuses on developing his underwaters. Leon showed us that that is the way moving forward with the 500. Especially going 4:10 at 15, there is not much more room in there for significant drops with just overwater speed.

mvnjuan
Reply to  KSW
2 days ago

Literally nobody cares about the 500. Nor yards for that matter. If he is smart he will start focusing on long course, like Phelps did.

Justin Pollard
Reply to  mvnjuan
1 day ago

That more people in the world care about meters, does not diminish the fact that lots of people care about yards in America. Short course meters also seems to be entering the lime light.

PFA
Reply to  KSW
2 days ago

He’s also still developing so I think he could be at least decent at UW’s but yes sooner or later UW aspect is going to need to be incorporated in short course to be faster but not as much necessarily in LC to be faster but who knows.

Minecraft
Reply to  PFA
1 day ago

Imagine how fast he will be once he starts to focus on his underwaters and turns? He’s got so much room to improve…

Go Bears
Reply to  47.84
1 day ago

Barf. Really hope this kid doesn’t end up at Texas.

47.84
Reply to  Go Bears
1 day ago

If he wants to be an icon of the sport that’s where he needs to go.