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.
Marcus Papanikolaou, 14, unattached (UN-MA): 14-year-old Papanikolaou put up seven lifetime-best swims at the MA KA Thanksgiving Invitational. Most impressive was probably his 20.90 in the 50-yard free – that moves him to #32 all-time in USA Swimming’s 13-14 ranks. Papanikolaou went 46.29 in the 100 free and 1:45.26 in the 200 free.
Sammy Kan, 14, Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks (CROW-PC): Kan blasted a 4:01.63 in the 400-yard IM at the Crow Canyon Country Club Sharks Time Trial meet in late November. That puts him on the cusp of joining a fairly exclusive group: only 45 boys in the history of the 13-14 age group have broken four minutes in a 400 IM. As it stands, that time is a nearly nine-second drop for Kan, who also hit career-bests in the 100 fly (53.99), 200 fly (1:56.47) and 200 IM (1:58.15).
Emily Thompson, 14, Greater Somerset Valley YMCA Storm (GSCY-NJ): Thompson went 54.99 in the 100 back at the Greater Somerset Valley YMCA’s ‘Don’t Be A Turkey’ meet. That’s a drop of almost a full second from her lifetime-best. Thompson also went 4:22.42 in the 400 IM for a one-second drop.
Mazie Paradis, 13, Verona Area Swim Team (VAST-WI): Swimming in Wisconsin, Verona Area Swim Team’s Paradis went 1:06.71 in the 100 breaststroke. That’s a drop of 1.3 seconds from her previous best time. Paradis had a banner meet, going lifetime-bests in the 100 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 100 fly, 200 IM, and 400 IM in that meet.