16-Year Old Nate Germonprez Goes 2:02 in 200 IM Time Trial in Omaha

2021 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials Wave I – TIME TRIALS

• June 4-7, 2021
• CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
• Long Course Meters
• Time Trials results

In between sessions at last weekend’s Wave I of the 2021 US Olympic Swimming Trials, there were several rounds of time trials races swum.

While athletes could not use these events to qualify for the Wave II meet, it gave those who only hit a few qualifying times the opportunity to take a taper shot at other events on the big stage in Omaha.

A top 10 age group time from Nate Germonprez highlighted the week’s time trial events. Swimming between sessions on Sunday, the 16-year old from the Inspire Swim Team in Omaha, one of the best local performers at these Trials, swam 2:02.50. That moves him into 10th-place all-time among Americans in the 15-16 age group.

Fastest American 15-16 Boys, 200 LCM IM:

1. Carson Foster – 1:59.45
2. Andrew Seliskar – 1:59.84
3. Michael Andrew – 1:59.86
4. Luca Urlando – 2:00.34
5. Michael Phelps – 2:00.86
6. Kyle Whitaker – 2:01.27
7. Tim Connery – 2:01.58
8. Sean Grieshop – 2:01.83
9. David Nolan – 2:02.19
10. Nate Germonprez – 2:02.50

That swim by Germonprez jumps him one spot ahead of 2016 US Olympian and Olympic gold medalist Gunnar Bentz, among others.

His best time of 2:04.96 coming into the meet didn’t actually qualify him for Wave I – which is what forced him into the time trial swim. That time would have placed him 3rd in the A final of the regular event, though, behind only Tristan Dewitt and Spencer Aurnou-Rhees.

Germonprez, a rising high school junior who has not yet announced a college decision, also swam a time trial of 56.02 in the 100 fly (just missing his best time) and raced just one event, the 100 back, in the regular racing. There he finished 6th in 55.75, also with a highly-ranked age group time.

His 200 IM cleared the Wave II cut, though because he didn’t place top 2 in that event, he’s still not eligible to race it at the Wave II meet that begins next week.

He wasn’t the only swimmer who time trialed a result that would have placed well in the regular race.

Rising Virginia Tech junior Sarah Shackelford put up a time trial of 55.81 in the women’s 100 free. That was almost half-a-second better than the 56.20 that she did to finish 4th in the final. Had she done that 55.81 in the final, she would have placed 2nd and advanced to the Wave II meet.

Another 15-16 who jumped up the national rankings in a time trial was Jonny Kulow from the Lander Swim Club in Wyoming. He swam 50.39, which picked off his 50.60 from early May as a new personal best in a race where he didn’t have a Wave I cut coming into the meet.

That swim jumps him to 14th place in the all-time 15-16 rankings in the 100 free, just behind Olympic gold medalist Ian Crocker (50.38) and his future Arizona State teammate Jack Dolan (50.37).

In prelims of the 50 free, his only qualified swim over the weekend, Kulow placed 20th overall in the 50 free in 23.06. That moved him into a tie for 16th place all-time in the age group.

17-year old Chris Guiliano wasn’t far behind Kulow in the time trials, swimming 50.53 for a new best time.

It was overall a big week for Arizona State swimmers, both present and future – taking advantage of their decision to redshirt their entire team last season, which gave them a chance to focus on long course. Rising sophomore Alexander Gusev swam a 2:00.99 in the 200 fly in a time trial. That’s a best time for him by 1.4 seconds, beating out a swim he did just 2 weeks earlier.

Other Standout Time Trials

• William & Mary’s Missy Cundiff swam a 25.54 in a 50 free time trial. That’s slightly-slower than the 22.48 that she won the event with.
• Air Force’s Corey Shepard swam a 22.87 in the 50 free among two time trial attempts at the meet. That’s slightly slower than the 22.85 that he swam to place 12th overall in the regular final.
• Stanford’s Andrew Matejka walloped his best time in a 200 free time trial, swimming 1:50.24. That is a 1.4 second drop from his previous best time in early May at the Longhorn Elite meet. In total, over the last 2 weeks of racing, he’s dropped his personal best in the event by 2.7 seconds. He also swam a best time of 51.46 in the 100 free, with his previous best having stood since April 2018.
• A pair of best times went on the board in the men’s 100 backstroke time trials. Former Ohio State Buckeye Colin McDermott swam 55.82, which knocked seven-tenths of a second off his old best, while 16-year old Chase Mueller threw up a best of 56.61, which is his best time by almost four-and-a-half seconds. For Mueller, who also had a gigantic drop to place 12th in the 200 back in 2:02.69, that 100 meter time now ranks him tied for 32nd all-time in the age group.