‘Amazing’ Audrey Derivaux Earns 400 IM Finals Swim at Age 14

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

‘Amazing’ Audrey Derivaux Earns 400 IM Finals Swim at Age 14

The ready room experience is different for everyone, but Audrey Derivaux had one Monday that no one is likely to top.

The 14-year-old from New Jersey had a busy morning session at U.S. Olympic Trials. She swam the first event of the morning, the women’s 400 individual medley, winning the third heat of six and setting a best time by more than four seconds from an outside lane.

While she waited to see if that time was good enough to reach an improbable final, she was readying for the next event on the docket, the women’s 100 backstroke, her Heat 3 starting 27 minutes after she got out of the pool.

In between, Derivaux got news of a dream result: Her time in the 400 IM made the final eight, giving the Jersey Wahoos teen a first finals swim at Olympic Trials.

“I was sitting in the ready room for my 1-back and I was just on the edge of my seat watching that heat,” Derivaux said. “I really wasn’t expecting to make that A final, but just making it is so amazing. I’m so excited. I can’t wait for tonight.”

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Derivaux, who just completed her freshman year at Haddonfield High School and is one of only eight 14-year-olds at the meet , was seeded 31st in the IM. She went from a seed time of 4:49.32 to 4:45.23, a massive drop that was enough to leave her thoroughly pleased when she left the pool.

Somehow, though, it got better.

“Honestly, I just wanted to try my best and just leave it all in the pool,” she said. “I wanted to drop time, like going 4:45 is amazing for me. But I feel like I have more left for tonight. And I really want to see what I can do.”

Derivaux’s time beat everyone in the fourth heat of six. Only Lilla Bognar, Leah Hayes and Leah Smith (age 29, just about twice as old as Derivaux) beat her time in the first circle-seeded heat.

So Derivaux sat in the ready room locked in on Heat 6. Watching intently, she did the calculations – yes, Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant would beat her. Lucy Bell, too. But if fourth place in that heat slowed down just a little bit. Or if fifth fell off …

The board showed Megan van Berkom fifth in the final heat in 4:45.73, Derivaux into the final eight by a clear half-second.

Somehow, after all of that, she had to corral the emotions and go out and swim again. She was slightly slower than her seed in the 100 back, going 1:02.02 for 34th place, still an improvement relative to her seed of 48th.

A 14-year-old just made finals in the #SwimTrials24 400 IM 🤯

Jersey Wahoos’ Audrey Derixaux, one of the eight 14-year-olds at this meet, posted a 4:45.23 to win her heat and become the eighth seed for tonight’s final.@TeamUSA | 🎥: @NBCOlympics & @peacock pic.twitter.com/DuOaBM4s4S

— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) June 17, 2024

Even before Monday’s swim, Derivaux projected a bright future in the sport. But the chance to get a taste of a Trials final at such a young age is something she’ll treasure.

“I was here last night and two nights ago, and just watching the finals, it was so cool,” she said. “I knew that I wanted to be a part of it, too. And now that I can be tonight, I can’t wait for it and I’m so excited.”

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