You are working on Staging1

Thomas Heilman, 16, Becomes the Fastest American 18&U Ever in the 200 Fly – 1:53.82

2023 WORLD AQUATICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – FINAL

  • World Record: Kristof Milak, Hungary – 1:50.34 (2022)
  • World Junior Record: Kristof Milak, Hungary – 1:53.79 (2017)
  • Championship Record: Kristof Milak, Hungary – 1:50.34 (2022)
  • 2022 World Champion: Kristof Milak, Hungary – 1:50.34
  • 2022 Time to Medal: 1:53.61

Top 8:

  1. Leon Marchand (FRA) –1:52.43
  2. Krzysztof Chmielewski (POL) — 1:53.62
  3. Tomoru Honda (JPN) — 1:53.66
  4. Thomas Heilman (USA)/Ilya Kharun (CAN) — 1:53.82
  5. (tie)
  6. Carson Foster (USA) — 1:54.74
  7. Richard Marton (HUN) — 1:55.02
  8. Wang Kuan-Hung (TPE) — 1:55.43

The men’s 200 fly final in Fukuoka saw France’s Leon Marchand claim victory in 1:52.43. Meanwhile, American 16-year-old Thomas Heilman finished just off the podium, clocking a huge new lifetime best of 1:53.82. The swim marks a new 15-16 National Age Group Record (NAG) for the U.S. 15-16 boys age group.

Back at the U.S. Trials about a month ago, Heilman cracked Michael Phelps‘ NAG, bringing the mark down to 1:54.54. With his performance tonight, Heilman has now taken well over half a second off his previous NAG. Here is a split comparison between the two performances:

Splits Heilman – World Champs Finals Heilman – U.S. Trials Finals
50m 25.31 25.46
100m 54.38 (29.07) 54.20 (28.74)
150m 1:24.12 (29.74) 1:24.50 (30.30)
200m 1:53.82 (29.70) 1:54.54 (30.04)
FINAL TIME 1:53.82 1:54.54

The biggest difference between his two races is that Heilman held his pace better tonight than he did at U.S. Trials. He was actually out a little bit slower, splitting 54.38 on the opening 100m, which was 0.18 seconds off the 54.20 he split last month. The 3rd and 4th 50s were critical, however, as Heilman split 29.74 and 29.70 respectively tonight, compared to 30.30 and 30.04 at Trials. That means Heilman came home in 59.44 on the final 100 tonight, nearly a full second faster than the 1:00.34 he closed in at Trials.

Additionally, Heilman’s time tonight makes him the fastest 18-and-under performer in U.S. history in the event. Though he can’t break the 17-18 boys record yet because he’s still 16, Heilman’s 1:53.82 tonight comes in just under the U.S. 17-18 NAG of 1:53.84, which is held by Luca Urlando.

Here are the 3 fastest American 18-and-unders in the LCM 200 fly:

  1. Thomas Heilman, 16 – 1:53.82
  2. Luca Urlando, 18 – 1:53.84
  3. Michael Phelps, 18 – 1:54.28

Moreover, Heilman’s performance tonight makes him the #5 performer in the world this year, marking the first time this young rising star has been in the top 5 in the world in an event.

2022-2023 LCM Men 200 Fly

LeonFRA
Marchand
07/26
1:52.43
2Kristof
Milak
HUN1:52.5804/20
3Tomoru
Honda
JPN1:52.7012/03
4Krzysztof
Chmielewski
POL1:53.6207/26
5Thomas
Heilman
USA1:53.8207/26
View Top 26»

 

In This Story

58
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

58 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
bankley
1 year ago

#Legend

Marklewis
1 year ago

He’s just 16, yet he knows how to pace the 200 fly like a veteran.

Milak is the gold standard, but Thomas gives the USA a great chance for a medal 🥇 in Paris.

mds
1 year ago

THE MEN’S 100 BUTTERFLY IS THE MOST WIDE OPEN AND AVAILABLE EVENT IN THE MEET.

Marchand won 200 Fly but is not in the 100 Fly; Ceccon won the 50 Fly but is not in the 100 Fly.

Neither Milak nor Dressel is in the meet.

Heilman butterfly swims in LCM rest meets over the last 11 months:
Jr. Pan Pacs (:51.98/1:56.52),
US Nats (:51.19/1:54.54),
Worlds ( ? /1:53.82)
Just an equivalent simple mathmatecal progression puts him at ~:50.80.

Entries show 6 swimmers under :51.00
Liendo: :50.36 (he was 0.48 off PB in his 100 free here ~:50.84; also off 50 Fly PB; ended 15th)
Groussett: :50.61 (He had a 50 fly PB,… Read more »

Caleb
Reply to  mds
1 year ago

Amazingly, I pretty much agree… you might add Kharun to that group. fwiw, I think Liendo is a longshot right now, the way he’s swimming. Nowhere close to his best 100 free, on either the relay or the individual.

SwimKen
1 year ago

No mention that he was only .03 off the World junior record?

Of none other than Kristof?

At age 16?

Last edited 1 year ago by SwimKen
LBSWIM
Reply to  SwimKen
1 year ago

Oh wow. Did not know that. Awesome!

Wanna Sprite
Reply to  SwimKen
1 year ago

Only because the actual fastest time Kristof went as a junior wasn’t recognized

HeGetsItDoneAgain
Reply to  Wanna Sprite
1 year ago

That time isn’t lasting much longer either.

Zippo
1 year ago

Young Thomas Heilman, just sixteen,
In the 200 fly, a sight to be seen,
With wings of skill, he soared,
To new heights he roared,
Fastest 18&U American, a swimming dream!


bankley
Reply to  Zippo
1 year ago

no more ai poems

Jalen T
1 year ago

Is Heilman the next Phelps!??? Out of podium in first int debut?

Miself
Reply to  Jalen T
1 year ago

Phelps was 5th in 2000

MarkB
Reply to  Miself
1 year ago

But at 15.

OldNotDead
1 year ago

I believe MP went 1:53.93 in semis at 2003 WC, at 18 – finals time was 1:54.35.
Swimming at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships – Men’s 200 metre butterfly – Wikipedia

Yabo
Reply to  OldNotDead
1 year ago

Milak went like 156 at 16 I believe

Comet16
1 year ago

He is definitely the future.
I was impressed how he managed the three rounds and swam his best in the final unlike foster who wasted his effort in the semi and got trampled by a piano in the final

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

Read More »