From Juniors to Paris? Alex Shackell, Thomas Heilman, Maximus Williamson Moving Closer to Crashing Olympic Party
The two-site Winter Junior Nationals has played host to plenty of outstanding individual performances in recent years, with the efforts of Sandpipers of Nevada swimmers Bella Sims, Katie Grimes and Claire Weinstein over the last two years coming to mind. The Sandpipers were absent from the proceedings over the weekend in Columbus, Ohio, and Westmont, Ill., but three other potential Olympians produced sensational results, best times and national age group records galore.
At the Columbus meet, Alex Shackell had three individual wins, the most impressive of which was a 1:50.15 200 butterfly in which she cut almost three-and-a-half seconds from her best time in one day. Under American-record pace through 150 yards, Shackell ended up becoming the fifth-fastest woman ever in the event while swimming just two tenths slower than Emma Sticklen’s winning time from last year’s NCAA Championships.
Shackell also moved to 12th all-time in the 100 fly at 49.49 (while splitting 49.25 on a relay), and she clocked 1:42.28 in the 200 free to become the 24th-fastest woman in history, swimming a time that would have won the NCAA title last year. Shackell also swam a 21.95 50 fly split, quicker than anyone at NCAAs last year, and she had sprint freestyle leadoffs of 21.71 (50 free) and 47.61 (100 free), both times that are on the verge of qualifying for NCAA finals, and she placed fourth in the 500 free at 4:40.16.
In the boys’ competition at the same meet, Thomas Heilman continued his role with four individual wins, in the 200 IM (1:41.21), 100 fly (44.80), 100 free (42.00) and 200 fly (1:40.73). The 200 IM and 200 fly were 15-16 NAG records, and Heilman also set age-group marks in the 50 free (19.24, finishing second) and 200 free (1:32.46, relay leadoff).
Maximus Williamson — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Two states away, Maximus Williamson took down age group records in the 17-18 division, going 1:32.00 in the 200 free as a relay leadoff on night one before clocking 1:31.37 two days later for another huge drop. Only four men, all at least sophomores, beat that time at last year’s NCAA Championships, and Williamson is a junior in high school. Williamson also set a NAG record of 1:41.18 to win the 200 IM, and he clocked times of 41.92 in the 100 free and 1:55.16 in the 200 breast.
That’s plenty of accolades for these three, in a course (short course yards) that makes them all extremely valuable recruits for college programs (Shackell for Cal, Heilman and Williamson for Virginia) even if it’s not the format in which they will race internationally.
When evaluating the efforts of talented young swimmers excelling on the junior level, it’s important to keep perspective. Age-group records and youth-level titles are awesome but only milestones, not the end goal for any swimmer. Swimming fans get excited about these performances and imagine how such talented teenagers could develop, but not all of these swimmers pan out as international stars, for whatever reason. That does not detract from their records and achievements as young swimmers, but we must remember to pause on the hype machine.
But not for Shackell, Heilman and Williamson. Not when all three have already flexed their talents on grand stages, with Shackell and Heilman both qualifying for the World Championships team and performing admirably in Fukuoka, Japan, while Williamson was the star of the World Junior Championships, defeating premium-quality talent while swimming times that placed his name firmly in the Olympic conversation.
Ah yes, the Olympics, the level to which all three are shooting to crash much earlier than expected, and in three weeks, the Olympic year will begin. With any high-level swimming, it’s impossible not to look immediately for Paris possibilities. Easier to do so with long course swims, but consider a few from a yards perspective.
For Shackell, the improvement curve is off the charts. Three-and-a-half seconds quicker in the 200 fly than one year ago? It’s not like Shackell was a no-name swimmer in 2022; on the contrary, she finished second at Junior Nationals behind Summer McIntosh, who was already the world champion in the meters version of the event. Yes, the final 50 remains an issue for Shackell, especially considering she dropped from second to fifth on the last length of the 200-meter fly at U.S. Nationals, but she’s making huge strides with the No. 2 American spot in the event behind Regan Smith firmly wide open.
Shackell also dropped 1.32 seconds in the 200 free after making huge strides in meters this summer, a progression which earned her anchor duties for the U.S. women’s 800 free relay in Fukuoka.
Thomas Heilman — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Heilman, meanwhile, is not putting up times that would light the college scene on fire, at least not yet. But that’s very normal — male swimmers typically add raw power in their late teenage and early college years that continually yields huge drops in short course. Heilman has already proven he’s better than almost any current college butterflyer in long course, having qualified for the U.S. World Championships team in both the 100 and 200 before finishing tied for fourth in the world over 200 meters.
Heilman might take a little bit for his short course to catch up with his long course swimming, but he’s dropping time, the indicators pointing toward further improvement in 2024 after his stunning breakthrough to the senior level in late June.
Finally, Williamson showed at Juniors how he is maximizing his chances at reaching the Olympics. The 100 and 200 free offer the most opportunity for swimmers, and Williamson is already firmly in the mix in the 100 after topping out at 48.38 in the event flat-start and splitting as fast as 47.57 on relay duty. His 200 free was a bit further off, as Williamson went a best time of 1:47.11 this year.
Jumping up 1.60 seconds in the 200-yard free, from 1:33.07 to 1:31.37 in one meet, is a positive sign for both of his freestyle races, with success in the short course 200 indicating potential for both events in long course. Williamson also improved his lifetime best in the 100 free by a half-second.
Yes, there’s always the chance that top prospects flame out, but that doesn’t appear likely with this trio. Times recorded in the 25-yard pool won’t help them reach Paris, but they are building off their recent successes rather than plateauing. Evidence is building that all three could be Olympians before they are high school seniors.
The SCY performances will at least bolster their confidence levels in other courses.