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What Michael Phelps Records Are Left?

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By Sidney Zacharias on SwimSwam

Last weekend at the 2022 Winter Junior Championships – West meet, 16-year-old Maximus Williamson clocked 3:39.83 in the 400 IM to erase Michael Phelps’ final SCY National Age Group record. 

All across the country, there has always been a generation of age groupers who are compared to or referred to as “mini Phelps”, as the stars of their local communities. Where I grew up, it was Yezan Alsader, who broke the Nick Caldwell’s’ 11-12 NAG in the 400 IM back in 2013. But the story goes the same wherever it is–beating a Phelps record has the potential to launch a career. It did so for Carson Foster, when he was just 10 years old.

But inevitably, all of those records will fall, because each generation gets a little better, a little bigger, and a little more athletic. All sports are fleeting in that way, with new stars constantly emerging and elbowing their way to the front of the line.

Just because Phelps’ name is gone from the short course National Age Group record book, does not mean that he has nothing remaining. Phelps still has a handful of long course NAGs that have yet to be broken, as well as a few American records, and one World record. Let’s take a look at what Phelps still has standing.

Long Course National Age Group Records:

  • Boy’s 13-14:
    • 200 fly – 1:59.02
    • 400 IM – 4:24.77
  • Boy’s 15-16:
    • 200 fly – 1:54.58
  • Boy’s 17-18:
    • 100 fly – 51.10
    • 200 IM – 1:55.94
    • 400 IM – 4:09.09
    • 200 free – 1:45.99

American Records (LCM):

  • 200 free – 1:42.96
  • 200 fly – 1:51.51
  • 400 IM – 4:03.84

World Records (LCM): 

  • 400 IM – 4:03.84

Phelps will continue to hold various pool and meet records around the country for another few decades still (some of Mel Stewart’s records are only now being broken, and he’s really old). But sooner than that, all of the *big ones* will be gone, and we can start to count the years that some of the smaller ones have stood. And that’s good for the sport. The beat marches on, always forward.

SwimSwam: What Michael Phelps Records Are Left?

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