Rising 15-Year-Old Star Luka Mijatovic Fires Off NAG Record of 4:10.96 in 500 Freestyle
In what is his latest sensational performance, 15-year-old Luka Mijatovic (Pleasanton Seahawks) destroyed his own National Age Group (NAG) record in the 15-16 classification on Sunday night. Competing at the Far Western Championships, Mijatovic clocked a time of 4:10.96 for the 500-yard freestyle, a swim that cut more than a second off his previous record of 4:12.34.
Mijatovic has been a rising star on the distance scene for several years, with more than a dozen NAG records to his credit. In this 500 freestyle, he posted a time that would have advanced to the consolation final of the recent NCAA Championships. Here is a look at the splits from Mijatovic from his record swim:
100: 47.98
200: 1:39.42
300: 2:30.61
400: 3:21.49
500: 4:10.96
While Mijatovic is just 15 years old, could he contend for a place on the American roster for this summer’s World Championships in Singapore? The youngster continues to drop large chunks of time from his personal bests and with a couple of months remaining until the United States Swimming Trials for the World Champs, additional improvement seems likely, and contention in the 400 freestyle is possible.
The weekend also saw Mijatovic set a 15-16 NAG record in the 1650 freestyle, as he posted a time of 14:37.63. That swim lowered the previous record of 14:37.86, set in 2020 by Liam Custer.
