Age Group Swimmer of the 12 months 17-18

See all of our 2024 Swammy Awards right here.

With six 18 & Below athletes qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic crew, and a few having unbelievable years however not qualifying, it was a tall activity to nail down our Swammy Award winners for the 17-18 age group. Finally, Katie Grimes and Thomas Heilman take the highest honors, however each swimmer on the listing, and even some not on the listing, may have a case for the highest spot.

17-18 Ladies:

Winner: Katie Grimes, Sandpipers of Nevada

Katie Grimes had an distinctive yr to earn her second straight Swammy Award for 17-18 Swimmer of the 12 months, ending it off with an American File within the 400 IM at Brief Course Worlds in Budapest. Her constant efficiency by means of 2024 is finally what earned her the highest spot as the one swimmer on the listing with a person medal on the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Grimes was the primary U.S. Olympic qualifier, incomes her spot within the Open Water 10k again in 2023. She didn’t cease there, nonetheless, and earned pool swims within the 1500 free and 400 IM on the Olympic Swimming Trials in June.

Her finest swim of the Olympics got here within the 400 IM, the place she earned the silver medal in 4:33.40—matching her outcomes from the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Grimes was additionally tenth within the 1500, and fifteenth within the 10k.

She gained two particular person medals on the 2024 SC World Championships in December. Her first got here within the Ladies’s 400 IM, the place she went 4:20.14 for an enormous finest time and a brand new American File. Her time of 4:20.14 broke the earlier Nationwide File held by Melanie Margalis by 4 seconds, and it makes her the 4th quickest performer in historical past.

She additionally gained a bronze medal within the 800 freestyle, swimming 8:05.90, and added a gold medal as a member of the American girls’s World File-breaking 4×200 freestyle relay the place she cut up 1:53.39 within the third place.

Within the 2024 LCM worldwide rankings, Grimes seems within the top-10 in three occasions. She sits in ninth within the 800 free, seventh within the 1500, and third within the 400 IM.

On the California/Nevada Sectionals a number of weeks in the past, she went new private finest occasions within the 100 free (49.60) and within the 1000 (9:16.69)

Grimes can be becoming a member of the College of Virginia for the Spring Semester.

Honorable Mentions:

• Claire Weinstein, Sandpipers of Nevada: Weinstein competed on the 2024 Paris Olympics because the youngest swimmer of Staff USA. She swam the 200 freestyle, the place she positioned eighth individually, and he or she swam as a member of the silver medal-winning 4×200 freestyle relay, which she led off in 1:54.88, the quickest US relay cut up.Weinstein competed in two particular person occasions on the 2024 SC World Championships in Budapest, swimming the 200 and 400 freestyles, and the 4×200 freestyle relay. Her first 200 freestyle of the meet was her anchor leg on the 4×200 relay, the place she went a blistering 1:50.31. This was the quickest cut up within the subject by a second-and-a-half and it not solely helped the US win the gold medal, nevertheless it was additionally an enormous issue behind them breaking the World File by seven-tenths-of-a-second. In her particular person 200 free, Weinstein broke Bella Sims’ World Junior File within the prelims, going 1:52.51 to earn the highest qualifying spot for the finals. In finals, she dropped virtually a second to go 1:51.62, decreasing her personal World Junior File and likewise breaking Allison Schmitt’s unofficial American file of 1:51.67 from 2009 and Mallory Comerford’s official file of 1:51.81 from 2018. She just lately swam on the California/Nevada sectionals, incomes a number of private finest occasions, most notably within the 200 freestyle the place she went 1:41.10, which is the 4th quickest 17-18 time in historical past.
• Alex Shackell, Carmel Swim Membership: Shackell was additionally a member of Staff USA in Paris, swimming the 200 fly individually and inserting sixth. She additionally swam in prelims of the 4×100 medley relay, which finally gained a gold medal, and the prelims of the 4×200 freestyle relay, which gained the silver. On the 2024 SC World Championships, Shackell gained 4 medals as a member of america relays. She was a finals member of the World File breaking girls’s 4×100 freestyle relay, splitting 52.01 within the third spot. She swam on the prelims relays of the combined 4×50 medley, combined 4×100 medley, and the ladies’s 4×100 medley. These swims earned her a bronze, silver, and gold medal respectively. She additionally competed within the particular person 200 fly inserting 4th total. Shackell was the one 17-18 lady who broke any NAG information this yr, going 2:06.10 within the 200m fly on the 2024 Olympic Trials.

17-18 Boys

Winner: Thomas Heilman: Piedmont Household YMCA

Thomas Heilman has gained a Swammy for Age Group Swimmer of the 12 months yearly since 2019, and this yr isn’t any exception. He’s the one swimmer on the listing to have damaged NAG information to this point this season, and he swam two particular person occasions on the 2024 Paris Olympic Video games.

Heilman has been destroying file books for years, and 2024 has not been any totally different. On the Olympic Trials in June, Heilman gained the lads’s 200 butterfly to make his first Olympic crew. Just a few days later, Heilman broke his first 17-18 NAG file within the 100 fly finals swimming 50.80 to earn his second swim in Paris.

On the 2024 Olympics, Heilman was 18th within the 100 fly, simply out of the semi-final, and tenth within the 200 fly, getting the chance to swim in semis however lacking the ultimate by two positions.

Heilman didn’t swim on the 2024 SC World Championships, swimming as a substitute on the East Winter Junior Nationals the identical weekend. He broke two NAG information within the butterfly occasions, going 43.86 within the 100 fly and 1:38.95 within the 200 fly. He nonetheless has over a yr remaining within the age group, and these occasions had been off his private bests within the occasions so we will count on to see extra information over the subsequent yr. He’s dedicated to swim at Virginia within the fall.

Honorable Mentions:

• Maximus Williamson, Lakeside Aquatic Membership: Williamson is the one swimmer on the boys or ladies listing who didn’t make the 2024 Paris Olympic crew, however he nonetheless had a formidable yr. On the 2024 6A Excessive Faculty State Championships in Texas, Williamson gained the 200 IM in a brand new NAG file time of 1:40.81. This was Williamson’s solely particular person NAG file of the yr, however he was additionally a member of the Lakeside relay that broke the 17-18 400 freestyle relay at West Winter Juniors a few month in the past, splitting a monster 40.96. Additionally at Winter Juniors, Williamson gained 5 gold medals, swimming new private finest occasions within the 50 free and 200 fly. He’s additionally dedicated to swim at Virginia within the fall.
• Luke Whitlock, Fishers Space Swim Staff: Whitlock was one other NAG file breaker, setting a brand new 17-18 file within the 800 freestyle, along with his 7:45.19 on the 2024 Olympic Trials to complete 2nd, incomes a spot on the Paris Olympic crew. Whitlock swam the 800 on the Video games, ending 18th in 7:49.26. He ended up testing constructive for COVID just some days later, which prevented him from swimming the 10k after David Johnston dropped out additionally because of a constructive COVID take a look at. Whitlock swam a number of meets at Florida to start out the season, selecting up a brand new finest time within the 1650, going 14:49.90 on the UGA Invite earlier than deciding to return to his membership crew to coach for the 2025 World Championships.

Earlier Winners

PAST WINNERS