In our GMX7 Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming series, we celebrate swimmers of every age and experience level with age group profiles of some recent results.
Daniel Branon, 13, North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC-MD): Branon dropped eight best times at the Maryland LSC Championships in early August, with four of them ranking him inside the top-30 all-time among 13-year-old boys in the United States. The highlight came in the 200 butterfly, where Branon took off nearly three seconds in 2:07.94 to become the fifth-fastest 13-year-old of all-time. The North Baltimore Aquatic Club product also now ranks 19th among 13-year-olds in the 100 fly (58.40), 27th in the 400 IM (4:43.57) and 30th in the 200 IM (2:13.28).
Grace Perry, 12, Falfins Swimming (FLFN-CO): Coming directly out of the Colorado 12&U Age Group Championships at the end of July, Perry was back in the water racing last weekend at the Western Zone Age Group Championships, where she set five new best times. Among those was a seismic drop in the 100 fly, as Perry had brought her PB from 1:08.87 to 1:06.77 at the Colorado champs, and then got all the way down to 1:03.80 at Western Zones. That swim launches her up into 16th all-time in the girls’ 11-12 age group.
Graham Henderson, 12, Tsunami Swim Team of K.C. (TST-MV): Henderson showed off his sprinting ability at the 14U Central Zone Championships in Elkhart County, Ind., resetting best times in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle, backstoke and butterfly. The most noteworthy swim came in the 50 back, where the 12-year-old Henderson broke 31 seconds for the first time and now ranks 11th in the boys’ 11-12 age group this season after clocking 30.47.
Ella Antoniewski, 14, Waukesha Express Swim Team (WEST-WI): Antoniewski is another swimmer taking on a busy summer schedule, as she followed up racing at the Wisconsin 13&O State Meet in late July by taking on the Central Zone Championships in Minneapolis just days later. In the latter, the 14-year-old Antoniewski set a trio of lifetime bests, including dropping more than a second in the 200 free (2:06.08) to rank 15th among 14-year-old girls this season.
Christian Jerome, 13, Uncle Sam Swim Team (USAM-AD): Jerome, who is actually a native of Haiti, had an unbelievable showing at the ISCA Summer Elite Showcase in St. Petersburg, Fla., last week, hitting a stunning 10 new best times. Among those was a blistering 56.45 in the 100 butterfly, which ranks him as the second-fastest 13-year-old ever in the USA Swimming database, trailing only Thomas Heilman. Jerome also swam 26.32 in the 50 fly, which ranks fourth among 13-year-olds, and his 2:10.73 200 fly sits 23rd.
Gabbie Irvin, 13, Greater Evansville Swimming Inc (GEVV-IN): Irvin lowered all three of her best times in the long course breaststroke events at the Indiana Central Zones 14 & U Championships last week. She now ranks third this season among 13-year-old girls in the 200 breast (2:38.87), fourth in the 100 breast (1:13.95) and 10th in the 50 breast (35.25).
David McCagg, World Champion swimmer and GMX7 Founder
About GMX7
Founded in 2018, GMX7 is based in St. Petersburg, Florida and is dedicated to changing the world of swimming by empowering competitive swimmers with the best aquatic resistance training devices ever created. GMX7 was founded by David McCagg, a 7-time gold medalist, former world record holder and winner of multiple national championships. The first device on the market by GMX7 is the X1-PRO. Designed by ROBRADY Engineering, it has already been the recipient of several awards including the 2020 International Design Excellence Award and the 2020 Red Dot Award for product design.
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