After breaking the 10 & under National Age Group Record in the 200 yard free on Thursday, ten-year old Claire Tuggle of the Yosemite Marlins Swim Club in Central California destroyed the 500 free record on Saturday at the 2015 Far Western Championships in Morgan Hill, California.
Tuggle went 5:13.74 in finals, eclipsing by nearly 3 seconds the old record of 5:16.52 set by Tina Papadopoulos in 2005. Her previous best in the event was 5:22.02 from January, making for an 8.3-second drop in 3 months. She dropped 3.6 seconds in the 200 free on Thursday, en route to breaking the NAG.
Tuggle is coached by Tammy Kudela, head coach of Yosemite Marlins Swim Club, who came up through the Mission Viejo Nadadores system and was an All-American at El Toro High School. They will have plenty of time to go after some of the long course NAG records this summer; Tuggle doesn’t age up until mid-July.
Comparative splits:
| Claire Tuggle (Yosemite Marlins Swim Club) | Tina Papadopoulos (YMCA Team Orlando) |
| 4/11/2015 | 3/2005 |
| 27.55 | 28.61 |
| 58.30 (30.75) | 59.87 (31.26) |
| 1:30.27 (31.97) | 1:31.49 (31.62) |
| 2:02.26 (31.99) | 2:03.57 (32.08) |
| 2:34.54 (32.28) | 2:35.96 (32.39) |
| 3:06.65 (32.11) | 3:08.28 (32.32) |
| 3:38.84 (32.19) | 3:40.45 (32.17) |
| 4:11.04 (32.20) | 4:12.90 (32.45) |
| 4:43.04 (32.00) | 4:45.06 (32.16) |
| 5:13.74 (30.70) | 5:16.52 (31.46) |
You can follow the results of 2015 Far Westerns here.
The 5:16.52 is my time right now for 9-10 boys
Congratulations to Claire! What an accomplishment! Let an athlete enjoy the moment! Hopefully the “dream smashers” will stop with predicting failure. Whether or not an athlete continues to swim, these experiences will carry over to other aspects of his/her life.
This is currently the only girls nag record that is faster than the current boys nag record.
Does that mean it’s time for a 10-year-old boy to step up and break records?
I think what is missing in all of this debate of “early success is an indicator of X” is the sheer joy in watching an ATHLETE do the best he/she can do in the pursuit of excellence. Watching these swims at Far Westerns first hand, I never think about 2020 or 2024. I only think about what a special moment in these young people’s lives. I think if the athlete, coach, and family can stay grounded, they can all appreciate the experience and start to believe that greater dreams can truly become a reality.
Saw the swim poolside last evening, but mostly trying to manage the cheering audience spread across the blocks of 3 lanes. “5:13, I thought to myself: about average for FW,” but then noticed it was 10 and UNDER age group. Quite a swim!.
(The crowd of youngsters at start-end poolside was getting rowdy/excited and part my job was to keep the starting area clear.)
I have had the privilege of watching Claire swim and she is amazing and a very grounded indivr. Congrats Claire, CCS is proud of your accomplishments.
Individual. Sorry for misspelling.
I say 2024 Olympics will be VERY fast.. If the world doesn’t end before then.
Yes. If she does not get burned out and quit. If she does not slow down, like most age group phenoms do. If she does not get hurt in any way whatsoever. If there are no other swimmers at that time as fast as her. If no one else catches up to her. If she has a good meet at OT’s. If she has a good meet at the Olympics. IF all of these things happen, then yes, 2024 will be fast!
As I have stated before, a 10 year old’s swimming success is an amazing indicator of future swimming success.
Sorry if I’m missing the sarcasm, but huh? I noticed that the previous record holder would be in college by now and finalling at least at NCAAs if breaking records early one was a good predictor of success. But she isn’t.
Chas Morton. Enough said.
It doesn’t guarantee a future big career international but it doesn’t guarantee the opposite either.
So no need to troll again.
What are you talking about? How is that considered trolling?? I’m making an observation in regards to another comment
Chas Morton was an All-American at Stanford and Pac-10 champion. What percentage of age-group swimmers reach that level? Enough said.