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.
Audrey Derivaux, 12, Jersey Wahoos (JW-MA): It would be hard to leave Derivaux off this edition given what she’s been doing over the past few days at the U.S. Junior Championships in Irvine. The 12-year-old Jersey Wahoo has been on fire, including breaking the girls’ 11-12 National Age Group Record in the 100 fly (1:01.41), moving to #2 all-time in the age group in the 200 fly (2:16.23), and taking over #3 in the 400 IM (4:56.70). But beyond that, over the last two weeks, Derivaux has set best times across an astounding 12 different events, having raced at the Middle Atlantic JOs prior to Junior Nats. Since late June, she has lowered best times in every long course event outside of the 800 and 1500 free, simply because she hasn’t raced them.
Tom Cui, 12, Dynamo Swim Club (DYNA-GA): Cui was a sprinting machine at the Southern Zone Age Group Championships last weekend, setting lifetime bests and moving into in the boys’ 11-12 all-time rankings in six different events. Cui, 12, had his best showing in the 100 fly, where he put up a blistering time of 1:00.92 to rank 10th all-time in 11-12 history. That marked a drop of well over a second, having been 1:02.30 two weeks earlier. He also broke into the top 40 in the 50 back (29.52), 100 free (56.70) and 100 back (1:03.98), and sits tied for 43rd in the 50 fly (28.02). These performances came on the heels of setting impressive best times in some longer events (200/400/800 free, 200 back) earlier in the month at the Georgia Age Group Championships.
Peyton Williams, 12, City of Mobile Swim Association (CMSA-SE): Williams has swum the six fastest 100 freestyles of her life over the past month, culminating with a 58.64 clocking at the Southern Age Group Championships last weekend. Williams’ time ranks her 16th historically in the girls’ 11-12 age group, and she also dropped over a second in the 200 free (2:07.14) to move into 23rd all-time. The City of Mobile Swim Association athlete added PBs in the 50 free (27.23), 100 breast (1:17.98) and 100 fly (1:05.24).
Max Simons, 12, VillaSport Athletic Club & Spa (VSST-GU): Simons showed out with six new best times at the Texas LC Age Group Championships (TAGS) two weeks ago, including a significant drop of more than two seconds in the 200 breaststroke. The 12-year-old took his PB down from 2:38.90 to 2:36.66, ranking him 34th all-time in the boys’ 11-12 age group. Simons also clocked a best of 1:13.41 in the 100 breast which ranks seventh among 11-12s this season.
Vera Conic, 14, Palatine Park District Tiger Sharks (PPD-IL): Conic has reset lifetime bests across seven different events over the last few weeks, first racing at the Illinois Age Group Championships before heading to Irvine for Junior Nationals. In Irvine, Conic swam to a lifetime best of 2:15.42 in the 200 backstroke, ranking her third this season and 57th all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group. In the 100 back, her new best of 1:04.00 is the 10th-fastest time among 13-14 girls in 2021-22.
Clem Camacho, 14, TAC Titans (TAC-NC): Coming off of the North Carolina Age Group Championships in mid-July, Camacho followed up with a second consecutive strong performance at the Futures Championships in Cary in his home pool. The 14-year-old TAC Titan put up new bests in the 200 IM (2:07.74) and 400 IM (4:33.86), launching him into the 14th and 27th all-time in the boys’ 13-14 age group, respectively. Camacho also broke into the top-100 in the age group with a 1:07.21 swim in the 100 breast.
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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