Jake Magahey is a competitive swimmer that represents the United States internationally. He is an NCAA and world junior champion.
Magahey first appeared in SwimSwam in May of 2017 after posting a 4:01.76 in the 400m freestyle at age 15, making a 5.7 second drop to do so.
Magahey continued to improve at a fast rate, giving him the #3 rank on SwimSwam’s Way Too Early NCAA Recruit Ranks: Boys’ Class of 2020 list. When the official rankings did come out, Magahey sat at #5. On April 2, 2019, Magahey announced his verbal commitment to swim at the University of Georgia.
College (Georgia)
2020-21
At his first SEC Championships, Magahey made big waves. He placed 2nd behind NCAA record holder Kieran Smith in the 500 free, clocking a 4:06.71, the 2nd fastest time in history behind Smith. He went on to win the 200 free the next day in 1:32.22 and rounded out his meet with another 2nd place in the 1,650 (14:24.96) behind another NCAA record holder, Bobby Finke.
Magahey kept his momentum rolling at the NCAA Championships, starting things off in the 500 free where he touched ahead of Kieran Smith this time, clocking a 4:07.97 for a meet record and NCAA title. He also finished 12th in the 200 free (1:33.07) and 2nd in the 1,650 (14:28.69), once again touching behind Finke.
2021-22
At his 2nd SEC Championships, Magahey placed 3rd in the 500 free (4:10.22), 4th in the 200 free (1:32.24), and 2nd in the 1,650 (14:40.20).
At that year’s NCAA Championships, Magahey started his meet by anchoring Georgia’s 800 free relay in 1:31.96 en route to a 2nd place finish. He went on to finish 2nd in the 500 free (4:07.39) behind Georgia teammate Matt Sates as well as 4th in the 1,650 (14:33.53).
2022-23
At the 2023 SEC Championships, Magahey placed 2nd in the 500 free (4:10.03), 9th in the 200 free (1:32.42), and 2nd in the 1,650 (14:38.45).
In his junior year at NCAAs, Magahey placed 3rd in the 500 free (4:09.24) and 1,650 (14:33.82) as well as 24th in the 200 free.
National/International Competition
2018 Summer Nationals
At nationals in Irvine, Magahey, 16, won the D-final of the 400 free in a time of 3:51.38. That put him 2nd all-time in the 15-16 age group, and also earned him a spot on the Junior Pan Pacific Championship team.
2018 Junior Pan Pacific Championships
On Day 1 in Fiji, Magahey earned his first international medal, touching for 2nd in the 200 free behind American Drew Kibler in a time of 1:48.67. On Day 2, Magahey won his first gold, leading off Team USA in the 4×200 free relay (1:49.40) to help the US touch 1st.
On Day 3, Magahey finished 10th in the 400 free, touching 2nd in the B heat behind teammate Dare Rose in a time of 3:54.13. On the final day, Magahey added to his medal haul, scoring a bronze in the 800 free with a time of 8:06.16.
2018 Winter Junior National Championships – East
Magahey ended 2018 with another stellar meet, this time in Greensboro, North Carolina. In his first event of the meet, Magahey took the 500 free title, winning in a new personal best of 4:14.61. The next day, Magahey took 4th in the 200 free in 1:35.64. On the final day, he took the title in the 1,650, touching 1st in 14:51.54.
Oldest High School Record in the Books
At the 2019 Georgia 6A/7A State Championships, Jake Magahey broke the oldest high school record in the books, clocking a 4:15.63 in the 500 free. That broke Jeff Kostoff’s public high school record of 4:16.39 done in 1983. Magahey also won the 200 free at that meet in 1:35.62.
2019 National Championships
At the 2019 nationals in Palo Alto, Magahey finished 9th in the 400 free (3:50.70), 13th in the 200 free (1:48.81), and 25th in the 100 free (49.20). This qualified him to swim the 100/400 free individually at the 2019 World Junior Championships, as well as on the 4×200 free relay.
2019 World Junior Championships
On Day 1, Magahey swam on the 4×100 free relay in finals, where he split 49.51 on the 1st leg to help break the world junior record in a time of 3:15.80. Magahey continued his relay heroics in the 4×200 free relay, leading off in 1:48.11 to help the US team take down another world junior record, this time by over 2.5 seconds to touch for gold in 7:08.37.
