13-Year Old Kate Douglass Joins Age Group Top 10 in 200 Breaststroke

13-year old New Yorker Kate Douglass has jumped into 10th place on the all-time list of 13-14 American 200 meter breaststrokers on Friday at the Arena Pro Swim Series meet in Minneapolis. Douglass swam a 2:31.37 to win the C-Final on Friday night after most of the meet’s stars had gone home.

Douglass has almost precisely a full year to chase Amanda Beard’s legendary National Age Group Record in the event, as she turns 14 later this month. For now, she has at least the honor of being the fastest American 13-year old in the 21st century. While records aren’t great from the era, there was a run of impressive age group breaststrokers in the 90’s. That includes Beard who still holds the National Age Group Record for 13-14’s in 2:25.75.

Douglass already had her Olympic Trials cut in the 200 breaststroke, but still managed to drop two seconds in this swim. She’s the 8th-fastest American of any age in the event early this season. While Douglass is far from the only swimmer to ever qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials at 13, she joins a rarer category that has standards in two events, and in two different strokes: she’s also qualified in the 50 free. She swam 25.80 in that event at this summer’s Junior Nationals.

Also in Minneapolis, Douglass has swum a 1:11.63 lifetime best in the 100 meter breaststroke that just missed the 1:11.49 Olympic Trials standard in that event as well.