Thomas Heilman Shatters Another NAG Record, Books Second Swim at World Championships
In day one of U.S. Nationals, 16-year-old Thomas Heilman surpassed the expected timeline for his graduation from age group star to senior-level contender as he qualified for World Championships in the 200 butterfly. Heilman crushed his personal-best time twice in one day, finishing with a 1:54.54 that was two seconds quicker than his pre-meet best. In the process, he broke Michael Phelps’ National Age Group record in the 200 fly, a mark Phelps set when he won his first world title in 2001.
Now, Heilman has a second event to race as he takes on the world’s best next month in Fukuoka. He got into the men’s 100 fly final as the sixth seed, swimming a time of 51.78 to knock two tenths off his own NAG record, but in the evening, he crushed that time by seven tenths, and that was enough for a spot on the World Championships team. Dare Rose won the event in 50.74, and Heilman was second in 51.19. He beat contenders including Shaine Casas, Trenton Julian and world-record holder Caeleb Dressel to grab the second spot for Worlds.
“I was just excited to get out there. Some of the pressure was off from a couple nights ago, so I was just trying to gout there and have fun. It was crazy. It was my first time swimming next to Dressel, and he’s one of my idols, so being next to him was pretty cool. Going out that first 50, I could kind of see him out of the corner of my eye, so I knew I must have been going out pretty well. And then on the way back, just trying to race everyone else and get my head down the last few meters,” Heilman said.
“Coming into that last 25, I could see Gabe Jett’s splash out ahead of me. I actually thought I was getting smoked. When I looked up and saw I got second, I was actually a little bit surprised. I’m happy to have another swim in Japan now.”
Heilman is the youngest male swimmer to qualify for the U.S. team for a major competition since Phelps, then 16, raced at a World Championships also held in Fukuoka in 2001, and he’s the only male swimmer younger than college to qualify for the U.S. team. His times are not yet medal-worthy, but given his recent trend, it would not be surprising if the teenager from Charlottesville, Va., continued to improve rapidly. And Heilman knows that this success and the impending Paris Olympics will make it difficult to avoid thinking about the possibilities of 2024.
“I’m trying not to think about it as much as I can and really focus on the next month or so,” Heilman said. “But obviously, it’s the Olympics. You can’t avoid it. I think after Japan I’ll really focus in and make a plan for the next 11 or 12 months with my coach. For now, focus on Worlds.”
