Paris Practice For Los Angeles? Teenagers Who Could Emerge as Stars
Three years before they emerged as the top swimmers of the Paris Olympics, Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh each got a taste of the sport’s highest level, collecting some valuable international experience that they would quickly parlay into international medals. Marchand, 19 at the time, qualified for the final of the 400 IM before finishing seventh (his prelims time would have been quick enough for a medal), and he finished 18th in the 200 IM. McIntosh came up one spot short of the podium in the 400 freestyle and as part of Canada’s 800 free relay.
We would not be surprised if another group of swimmers makes the jump from Paris participation to Los Angeles stardom, with plenty of contenders having emerged with under-the-radar yet strong swims in their first Games. Here are some of those teenage swimmers who are set up well for the next quadrennium by advancing to Olympic finals and/or semifinals this year.
This list will not include swimmers who have previously captured medals at Olympics or World Championships. McIntosh, Canadian butterflyer Ilya Kharun and Japanese individual medley specialist Tomoyuki Matsushita all reached the podium in Paris while Italian breaststroker Benedetta Pilato, Poland’s Ksawery Masiuk and Bosnian butterflyer Lana Pudar have previously placed in the top-three at major meets.
Women
Minna Abraham, Hungary (18): Abraham completed an impressive freshman season at USC by finishing third in the 200-yard free at the NCAA Championships, and she went on to reach the semifinals of the 200-meter free in Paris, clocking 1:57.7s on two occasions in the Olympic arena.
Iona Anderson, Australia (19): The four fastest women in history in the women’s 100 backstroke occupied the top-four spots in the event in Paris, but behind them was Anderson, the teenager who benefitted from the decision of Mollie O’Callaghan to drop the event from her Paris lineup.
Sara Curtis, Italy (18): This sprinter broke through to qualify for the 50 free semifinals, with a time of 24.67 in prelims and then a 24.77 in the semis to place 14th.
Erin Gemmell, United States (19): Gemmell played a key role on the U.S. women’s 800 free relay that earned silver, and she just missed a finals spot in the 200 free, placing ninth.
Mizuki Hirai, Japan (17): Hirai got into a veteran-laden field in the 100 fly by clocking 56.80 in the semifinals. She placed seventh in the top heat.
Eneli Jefimova — Photo Courtesy: Istvan Derencsenyi/LEN
Eneli Jefimova, Estonia (17): Jefimova is the European champion in the 100 breaststroke in both short course and long course. She took sixth in the 100 breast at the 2023 World Championships and then seventh in Paris.
Mio Narita, Japan (17): Narita jumped into international racing with individual medley sweeps at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships and the World Junior Championships that same year. She has risen into senior-level contention in the 400 IM in the past two years, placing eighth at last year’s Worlds and sixth in Paris.
Jamie Perkins, Australia (19): Perkins was the youngest swimmer in the star-studded 400 free final in Paris, finishing eighth, and then she won a gold medal as a prelims swimmer in the 800 free relay.
Alex Shackell, United States (17): Her first Olympic appearance put Shackell in medal contention in the 200 fly until she finished sixth in the final. Shackell also bagged a pair of medals as prelims relay swimmers, a silver in the 800 free relay and gold in the 400 medley relay.
Roos Vanotterdijk, Belgium (19): Vanotterdijk has exploded onto the senior level this year, winning three medals at the European Championships (including gold in the 100 fly), and she came close to qualifying for finals at the Olympics, taking 10th in both the 100 fly and 100 back.
Claire Weinstein, United States (17): Weinstein struggled at last year’s World Championships, but she came through in Paris with a finals spot in the 200 free and breaking 1:55 for the first time leading off the U.S. women’s 800 free relay that ended up with a silver medal.
Men
Dong Zhihao, China (19): In a huge surprise, the top Chinese finisher in the 200 breast was not world-record holder Qin Haiyang but this teenager, who had previously captured gold at the little-attended Worlds in early 2024. Dong took fourth in Paris in 2:08.46, just over a half-second off the podium.
Thomas Heilman, United States (17): Heilman did not reach his best times at his first Olympics, but he still qualified for the semifinals of the 200 fly before winning a medley relay silver medal as a prelims swimmer. Heilman previously tied for fourth in the event at the 2023 World Championships.
Ahmed Jaouadi — Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Ahmed Jaouadi, Tunisia (19): In the absence of Tokyo Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui, his younger countryman came through by putting himself in strong position in the same distance events that Hafnaoui has excelled for years and Ous Mellouli did before that. Jaouadi finished fourth in the 800 free in Paris and sixth in the 1500 free, coming in less than four seconds off the podium in each event. He just missed the 400 free final in ninth place.
Miroslav Knedla, Czechia (19): His country is hardly a swimming powerhouse, but Knedla was not far away from qualifying for an Olympic final, tying for 12th in 53.44.
Alessandro Ragaini, Italy (18): Italy has produced plenty of internationally successful 200 freestylers in previous decades, and perhaps Ragaini could join that club after he finished 14th in Paris, just missing the final.
Kuzey Tuncelli, Türkiye (17): This world-junior-record setter looks like a future distance star. He won the European title in the 1500 free earlier this year, and after finishing 11th in the Paris 800 free, he got into the 1500-meter final and placed fifth, his time of 14:41.22 leaving him just over one-and-a-half seconds away from the medals.
Zhang Zhanshou, China (17): The versatile Zhang has positioned himself for a strong future for China after he took 12th in the 400 free and 10th in the 200 fly in Paris.