2024 Alberta Provincial Championships LC
- March 7-10, 2024
- Calgary, Alberta
- LCM (50 meters)
- Results
The University of Calgary Swim Club continued to rewrite the Canadian National Age Group relay records over the weekend at the Alberta Provincial Championships, obliterating their own mark in the boys’ 15-17 400 medley relay.
The quartet of Aiden Norman, Laon Kim, Nicholas Duncan and Paul Dardis combined for a time of 3:45.99, cracking the previous record of 3:48.35 set by a squad that included Norman and Duncan in April 2022 at the Western Canadian Championships.
Norman led off in 55.39, within striking distance of his 100 back personal best from the 2023 World Juniors (54.77), and then Kim was more than a second under his flat start best on breaststroke in 1:04.97 before Duncan (54.71) and Dardis (50.92) were within three-quarters of a second of their PBs on the back half.
Split Comparison
UCSC, 2022 | UCSC, 2024 |
Aiden Norman – 57.10 | Aiden Norman – 55.39 |
Jett Verjee – 1:04.60 | Laon Kim – 1:04.97 |
Nicholas Duncan – 54.58 | Nicholas Duncan – 54.71 |
Lorne Wigginton – 52.07 | Paul Dardis – 50.92 |
3:48.35 | 3:45.99 |
Norman, Duncan and Dardis are all 17, while Kim is just 15.
Kim was among the top performers at the meet, winning all five of his individual events with a pair of personal bests.
Kim went 50.30 in the 100 free to undercut his previous best and improve his stead as the fastest 15-year-old in Canadian history, while he set a PB of 29.72 in the 50 breast prelims before winning the final in 29.84.
He was also within .02 of his best time in the 50 free (23.03), and won the 200 free (1:51.79) and 400 free (4:07.35), the latter coming with a massive negative split in the final (2:05.07/2:02.28).
Norman also had one of the top swims of the meet in the individual 100 back in 55.13, while 16-year-old Sienna Rodgers highlighted the girls’ competition with her 1:02.57 showing in the 100 back, just shy of her 1:02.36 PB which ranks her #18 all-time in the 15-16 age group.
The University of Calgary Swim Club currently owns four of the five Canadian NAG relay records for 15-17 boys, only missing the 200 free relay—an event not contested consistently at long course meets—mark of 1:34.52 set by Oakville in 2012.
They are coming
Good job boys!