2023 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS
- March 28 – April 2, 2023
- Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre – Toronto, Ontario
- TPASC
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- Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
Laon Kim is now a perfect three-for-three in setting National Age Group Records at the Canadian Swimming Trials in Toronto.
Kim, 14, followed up an incredible swim in the 400 freestyle on Tuesday night by knocking off another NAG record in the boys’ 13-14 age group on Wednesday morning, this time doing so in the 800 free.
Swimming in the first heat of the morning session, with the fastest heat set to swim with finals, Kim put up a time of 8:17.16 to knock six seconds off his previous record of 8:23.15 set last summer at the Canadian Junior & Senior Championships in Montreal.
Split Comparison
| Kim, 2022 Nationals | Kim, 2023 Trials |
| 27.91 | 28.12 |
| 58.82 (30.91) | 59.11 (30.99) |
| 1:30.22 (31.40) | 1:30.57 (31.46) |
| 2:01.87 (31.65) | 2:01.78 (31.21) |
| 2:33.47 (31.60) | 2:32.97 (31.19) |
| 3:05.33 (31.86) | 3:04.09 (31.12) |
| 3:37.15 (31.82) | 3:35.43 (31.34) |
| 4:09.07 (31.92) | 4:07.24 (31.81) |
| 4:40.80 (31.73) | 4:38.82 (31.58) |
| 5:12.84 (32.04) | 5:10.45 (31.63) |
| 5:44.82 (31.98) | 5:42.10 (31.65) |
| 6:16.84 (32.02) | 6:13.86 (31.76) |
| 6:48.82 (31.98) | 6:45.55 (31.69) |
| 7:20.80 (31.98) | 7:17.21 (31.66) |
| 7:52.57 (31.77) | 7:48.04 (30.83) |
| 8:23.15 (30.58) | 8:17.16 (29.12) |
Kim, who competes for Hyack Swim Club, was essentially out the same as he was last summer over the first 200 meters, but was able to hold his 50 splits in the 31-mid range over the course of the race. In his July swim, he was 31.9 or 32.0 on six of his 50s, while his slowest 50 today was 31.8.
When Kim initially set the record, he took down the mark of 8:25.83 established by Charlie Kwinter in 2019. Now, he sits nearly nine seconds faster than that time.
On Tuesday, Kim broke his 400 free NAG record of 4:01.80 with a 4:01.28 prelims swim, and then demolished that in the final with a time of 3:56.79.
For context, Kim’s time in the 400 free would also be a U.S. National Age Group Record for 13-14 boys, overtaking Evan Pinion‘s record mark of 3:57.61 from 2009. Michael Phelps notably sits second on that list in 3:58.80.
In the 800 free, Kim’s time would rank sixth in the U.S., with Pinion owning the all-time record at 8:08.75.
Already the owner of the 13-14 NAG record in the 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 free, Kim will have a shot at breaking the 44-year-old mark in the 1500 free later this meet. That record stands at 16:00.93 from Alex Baumann in 1979, and Kim has been as fast as 16:12.80, done last August at the Canada Games.