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.
Chloe Kim, 15, Scarlet Aquatics (SCAR-NJ): Kim, who won the 400 IM at the Speedo Junior National Championships this past August, put up four personal bests at the LIAC Thanksgiving Invitational last weekend while also coming near her PBs in the medley events. Kim’s lifetime bests were highlighted by a 1:49.33 effort in the 200 free, making her the fourth-fastest 15-year-old girl in the U.S. this season. In her primary event, the 400 IM, the Scarlet Aquatics product neared her PB of 4:13.13 in 4:13.58, making her the fastest 15-year-old in the 2022-23 season by two seconds.
Kaden Wong, 13, Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks (CROW-PC): Wong reeled off some highly-ranked swims at the Crow Canyon Sharks’ 14&U Last Chance meet over the weekend, including a blistering swim in the 200 butterfly. Wong clocked in with a time of 1:54.53, making him the 24th-fastest 13-year-old swimmer in U.S. club history and the fastest this season by more than a second. He also swam to new bests in the 500 free (4:41.93) and 100 fly (53.27), ranking him third and seventh among 13-year-old boys in 2022-23, respectively, and added near-best times in the 200 IM (1:57.80) and 400 IM (4:08.43).
Alejandra Ordonez, 12, Monteverde Aquatic Club (MVAC-FL): Ordonez qualified for the FHSAA 1A state meet as a freshman for Monteverde Academy, swimming a personal best time at last weekend’s championships in the 100 freestyle to place 19th in 53.20. Ordonez, 12, finished in the same position in the 200 free (1:57.14), having set a best of 1:56.67 at the Regions Championships earlier in the month. In the 100 free, she ranks third this season among 11-12 girls, and in the 200 free she sits fifth. Shortly after the state championships wrapped up, Ordonez was back racing at the Almost Turkey Invitational in Orlando, setting new best times in the 100 back, 50 fly and 100 IM.
Amir Ali, 12, Aquazot Swim Club (AZOT-CA): Ali has set new personal best times across nine different events this month, including five coming last weekend at the Jessie Rees Memorial Turkey Classic in Mission Viejo, Calif. Among those was the 200 IM, where the Aquazot Swim Club member clocked 2:05.08 to dip under his previous best set earlier in the month (2:05.40) and move into third this season among 11-12 boys. Ali also swam bests in the 100 free (52.49), 50 back (28.65), 100 back (1:00.00) and 50 breast (31.01).
Alyse Block, 14, Verona Area Swim Team (VAST-WI): Block set six best times at the Western Great Lakes Invite, all ranking her inside the top 10 this season among 13-14 girls, including a 25.11 effort in the 50 fly which ranks #1 this season and is tied for 41st all-time in the age group. Block also moved into third this season in the 200 IM (2:03.81), fifth in the 100 free (51.15), sixth in the 400 IM (4:25.51), seventh in the 100 fly (55.81) and ninth in the 50 free (23.71).
Austin Carpenter, 14, Central Ohio Aquatics (COA-OH): Carpenter was on fire at the Ohio Short Course Senior Championships in Bowling Green, shattering his lifetime best times across seven different events. This included posting the top time in the country this season for 13-14 boys in the 50 free (21.21) and 50 breast (26.64), while also putting up the #2 time in the 100 free (46.37), #3 in the 200 IM (1:54.45), #5 in the 200 free (1:42.37) and #7 in the 200 breast (2:08.37). Competing against swimmers several years older, Carpenter earned top-five finishes in five of the aforementioned events at the championships.
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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