In our Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming series, we celebrate swimmers of every age and experience level by profiling several young swimmers and their recent results.
Bobby Dinunzio, 15, Tide Swimming (TIDE-VA): Swimming at the NOVA Senior Holiday Champs in Virginia, 15-year-old Dinunzio hit personal bests in six different short course yards events. Probably most impressive was a 500 free where Dinunzio dropped from 4:32.55 down to 4:29.10 for his first swim ever under 4:30.
Emma Lemler, 15, Schroeder YMCA Swim Team (SSTY-WI): In Wisconsin, 15-year-old Lemler came up with big drops in both the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes. Lemler entered the meet with a lifetime-best 57.17 in the 100 back, and skipped the 56s entirely with a huge drop to 55.35. The 200 was even bigger, with Lemler dropping from 2:06.8 to 2:04.12.
Max Hatcher, 14, North Texas Nadadores (NTN-NT): 14-year-old Hatcher swam to three lifetime-bests at the 2020 LAC Jingle Bell Invite in Texas. In the 200 IM, he came through with a massive time drop, from 1:57.07 to 1:53.76. Across the calendar year 2020, Hatcher has cut four and a half seconds in that event.
Nikko Tjahaya, 12, Queens Aquatic Club (QNS-MR): 12-year-old Tjahaya has had a stellar 2020 in the 100 breaststroke. Coming into the year with a lifetime-best of 1:15.2, Tjahaya dropped to 1:12.2 in September, then blasted a 1:09.32 last week at the QNS Winter Miracle Time Trial. She also hit lifetime-bests in the 50 breast (32.54) and 100 free (58.71). The latter was her first swim under a minute, with a time drop of almost four seconds.
Very proud of the Queens Aquatic Club! With COVID closing most of NYC, the club has been forced to find pools out of the city and has become a temporary home for many city swimmers who’s clubs are still locked out.