Iowa Swimming 2024 Long Course Championships: Sheldon Lamb Ties Dressel at #11 in 11-12 50 Fr

Iowa Swimming, INC. 2024 Long Course Championships

• Thursday, July 25th – Sunday, July 28th
• Wellmark YMCA, Des Moines, Iowa (Hosted by Des Moines Swimming Federation)
• 50 meters (Long Course)
• Results
• Team Scores

Running concurrently to the Olympics, albeit a few hours behind, Iowa Swimming held its 2024 Long Course Championships in Des Moines. Hosted by the Des Moines Swimming Federation at the Wellmark YMCA, the meet saw some of the fastest swimmers in the area compete against one another in long course meters.

While many of the older swimmers may have been prepping for Futures or attending the Summer Championships in California, the youth of the meet took advantage and stole the spotlight. Foremost among them is Sheldon Lamb.

Lamb, 12, who swims for the Greater Des Moines YMCA Marlins, won every event he swam, going nine for nine, earning the maximum 180 points in the high point award category. Foremost among his wins was the 25.60 he posted to take the 50 free.

A new personal best by .31, the time equals him as the 11th fastest 11-12-year-old ever, a spot he shares with Olympic Gold medalist Caeleb Dressel, who in 2009 also recorded a result of 25.60. The time is the fastest time swum by a 12-year-old this season and is more than half a second clear of the next fastest. Lamb also holds the fastest time in the 50-yard free (23.67), albeit amongst 11-year-olds, as he aged up between February and now.

What is perhaps even more impressive is that Lamb swam a 24.50 relay split on his team relay. While there is not a full list of 50 free relay splits, the 24.50 has to be one of the fastest for his age. It certainly means that he could have more in him as he chases Ronald Dalmacio‘s NAG record of 24.98 from 2017.

Lamb also recorded new PBs in the 100 back (1:05.32), the 50 breast (34.36), and the 100 fly (1:05.63), the last of which was a drop of nearly a second and a half as he completely skipped 1:06 as his previous best was 1:07.08. Like in the 50 relay split, Lamb hacked off more than a second off with his 100 fly split of 1:04.18.

While Lamb was cleaning up the sprints, 11-year-old Beckum Rychnovsky was dealing damage in the distances amongst the 11-12 year olds. The Des Moines Swimming Federation swimmer, was 2nd in the 200 free to Tate Tysdahl, but claimed first place in the 200 fly (2:43.29), the 400 free (4:48.10) and the 800 free.

His time in the 800, 9:53.96, was a 22-second personal best and appears to be the seventh fastest time swum by an 11-year-old in the event this season, trailing Parker Wheeler‘s 9:26.42.

On the women’s side of the meet, Miriam Sheehan swept the 100s back, fly, and free in the Open category. Sheehan swam for NC State this past NCAA season but announced her transfer to ASU this past April. In Des Moines, she won the 100 back in 1:03.88, ahead of her future teammate Payden Rafferty.

Rafferty, who swims with DSMY was 5th in the finals of the 100 back (1:06.62), and should, along with Sheehan, help the Sun Devils backstroke crew, as at the 2024 Pac-12 they only advanced one swimmer into the A or B-final, albeit, ASU will now compete in the Big 12.

Among the age-group swimmers, Maelyn Woltz of Black Hawk Area Swim Team almost equaled Lamb’s feat of sweeping her events but wound up with eight first places and one-second place. The 12-year-old, who won the 50 free in an impressive 28.78, was stymied in the 50 fly, where her time of 31.30 was not enough to overcome Ashlyn Burns‘s 31.05.

10-year-old Emmersyn Sledge also nearly swept her events, falling short in the 400 free, finishing in 5:44.73, which was good for third. She did win the 100 back in 1:16.39, which was a new PB of over five seconds, and ranks her 9th amongst 10-year-olds this season. Coincidentally, the fastest 10-year-old in the event appears to be the aforementioned Sheehan, who swam 1:09.36 back in 2015.