2023 LITHUANIAN JUNIOR-YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
- June 9th – June 11th
- Vilnius, Lithuania
- LCM (50m)
- Results
The 2023 Lithuanian Junior-Youth Swimming Championships concluded over the weekend with teenager Tajus Juska once again having a major impact on the competition.
After already wreaking havoc on Lithuanian age records for 14-year-olds earlier this season, the Kaunas native was back at it in the sprint free and fly events.
Juska produced an age record-setting mark of 23.32 in the boys’ 50m freestyle, easily overtaking his previous personal best of 23.79 clocked just last month.
In the 100m free, Juska put up an effort of 51.13 for another new age record, surpassing his prior PB of 51.78 established in April.
He also hit outings of 24.79 and 55.00 in the boys’ 50m and 100m butterfly races, respectively. The former sliced .19 off his previous career-quickest result of 24.98 while the latter destroyed his old personal best of 56.01 logged in April.
For perspective, Juska’s results would rank in the upper echelon of best-ever American performers aged 13-14. His 50m free would rank the teen 3rd, ahead of Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel when he was that age.
Additionally, Juska’s 100m free time sits just .01 outside of American Thomas Heilman‘s national age group record of 51.12 while the Lithuanian’s 100m fly would rank him as the 5th swiftest American 13-14-year-old in history.
You can read more about Juska’s previous remarkable results here:
- Emilis Panumis scored a winning time of 8:54.30 to set a new Lithuanian age group record for 14-year-olds in the boys’ 800m free
- Herkus Andronatij posted a time of 2:23.38 to establish a new Lithuanian age group record for 14-year-olds in the boys’ 200m breast.
At the end of 2022 Juska’s PBs were really interesting for a 13 year-old, but in 6 months they are in a new (impressive) dimension indeed. At the end of 2022 Juska’s PBs were: 24.30 in the 50 free, 53.81 in the 100 free, 2.02.45 in the 200 free, 1.03.35 in the 100 back, 25.64 in the 50 fly, 57.68 in the 100 fly and in the 400 free he swam 4.21.69 in January 2023 (and now he’s already 10 seconds faster).
What’s really impressive is Juska’s rate of improvement. Also at these Junior Champs he swam a lot of races with great PBs in all but the 100 back (1.00.19 vs 59.96 swum just last month). Juska swam new PBs in the 50 free (23.32), 100 free (51.13), 200 free (1.55.24), 400 free (4.11.72), 50 fly (24.79) and 100 fly (55.00).