Thomas Heilman Clocks #6 All-Time Fastest 15-16 200 Fly at Juniors, 1:57.84

2022 Speedo Junior Championships

• August 1 to 5, 2022
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, California
• Long Course Meters (50m)
• Meet Central
• Event Page
• Psych Sheets
• Live Stream (USA Swimming)
• Live Results (OMEGA) (also can be found on MeetMobile)
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap

15-year-old Thomas Heilman of Cavalier Aquatics dropped .17 seconds from his lifetime best time to place 2nd at the 2022 U.S. Junior Championships. He touched the wall at 1:57.84, the 6th all-time fastest time swam by a 15-16 year-old.

Heilman clocked his previous best time at the 2022 International Team Trials in April where he placed 2nd in the ‘B’ final. There, he posted a 1:58.01 to rank himself 7th on the list of all-time fastest 15-16 year-olds in the event.

Top 10 All-Time Fastest 15-16 Year-Olds in Boys’ 200 Meter Fly

1. Michael Phelps – 1:54.58 (2001)
2. Luca Urlando – 1:55.21 (2018)
3. Andrew Seliskar – 1:56.42 (2013)
4. Matt Fenlon – 1:57.39 (2019)
5. Justin Lynch – 1:57.80 (2013)
6. Thomas Heilman – 1:57.84 (2022)
7. Justin Wright – 1:57.90 (2013)
8. Dan Madwed – 1:58.15 (2005)
9. Carson Foster – 1:58.47 (2017)
10. Corey Okubo – 1:58.58 (2012)

Heilman is coming off a stellar 2021 season where he broke 13 national age group records in 11 days as a 14-year-old. Now, he’s after the 15-16 ones.

The recently-turned 15-year-old had a close race with Carmel Swim Club’s Aaron Shackell in Irvine today, mirroring their duel in the International Team Trials ‘B’ final where Shackell won and Heilman placed 2nd. Shackell ultimately won the event again in Irvine with a time of 1:57.42, moving up from #16 to #13 out of the all-time fastest 17-18-year-olds in the event. He mirrored his sister, Alex Shackell‘s, win in the girls’ 200 butterfly a few minutes earlier.

Shackell had the early lead, going out in 56.17 on the first 100 meters compared to Heilman’s 56.56. Their splits were nearly even on the third 50 (Shackell 30.79, Heilman 30.97), but Heilman found more energy in the tank on the final 50. He finished the race in 30.31 to Shackell’s 30.46.

Going into the rest of the meet, Heilman is seeded 1st in the 100 fly, 2nd in the 50 free, 5th in the 200 free, and 6th in the 100 free.