10 Year Old Miriam Sheehan Surpasses Adolf Kiefer’s 1936 Record with 57.96 100 Yard Backstroke NAG Mark

Phoenix Swim Club’s Miriam Sheehan set a National Age Group (NAG) record for 10 and under girls with an unofficial time of 57.96 breaking the old record by 2 seconds. The time qualified her for USA Swimming Speedo Sectional Championships.

The race will surely be seen as an untouchable mark especially when put in comparison to performances by great swimmers of yesteryear.

Adolph Kiefer, the oldest living USA Olympian living today, became the first man to break the one-minute mark in the 100-yard backstroke while competing as a 16-year-old in the Illinois High School Championships of 1935. He swam the distance in 59.8 seconds. His 1936 Illinois state championship backstroke time of 58.5 seconds was the Illinois state high-school record until 1960. On April 6, 1940 Kiefer set another record, swimming the 100-yard backstroke in 57.9 seconds. Sheehan has now broken or matched all three marks as a 10 year old swimmer.

Kiefer broke twenty-three records after breaking the one-minute backstroke mark. Kiefer went on to set a world record for 100-meter backstroke of 1:04.8 on January 18, 1936 at Brennan Pools in Detroit, Michigan.

The seventeen-year-old Kiefer represented the United States at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany winning a gold medal in the men’s 100-meter backstroke. His Olympic record remained unbroken for 20 years.

Adolf Kiefer has been nominated for the Medal of Freedom award, which is awaiting approval by President Obama

Learn More About Adolf Kiefer