Swimming World Performance of the Week: Grant Shoults’ 200 Free

Photo Courtesy: Griffin Scott

Grant Shoults made a major breakthrough in the 200-yard freestyle at the CIF Southern Section Division I championships. The senior from St. Margarita High School not only broke through the 1:35 barrier for the first time in his life with a 1:34.54 in finals, but he was rewarded with an independent high school national record.

And it was a doozy of a record. Joe Hudepohl had set it in 1991 with a 1:34.96, which at the time would have placed in the top eight at the NCAA championships. Besides Jeff Kostoff’s national public school record in the 500 free, Hudepohl’s record was the only high school record remaining from the 20th century. Hudepohl would go to the Olympics the following year and win two relay medals. Could Shoults be on a similar path? As a member of the USA Swimming national junior team, he is on the right track.

Shoults, who is just a junior, has dropped 1.5 seconds off his lifetime best in one year, from a 1:35.99 at last year’s meet to 1:35.13 last December to his record-setting accomplishment of 1:34.54. He approached the race in an unusual way, going out in 46.87 at the 100-yard mark and blasting a 47.67 in the second half to nearly even-split the race. With years of training under Bill Rose at Mission Viejo, it’s likely that Shoults’ endurance was never in question.

Perhaps next year Shoults will have the courage – or the ability – to take the race out harder and put a scare into the overall national record of 1:33.83. That record is owned by another of Rose’s charges: Tom Shields.

We shouldn’t pass over Shoults’ amazing 4:15.56 to win the 500 free, which makes him the second-fastest swimmer in high school history and puts Jack Conger’s national high school record of 4:13.87 in jeopardy. Shoults dropped an astonishing six seconds off his lifetime best in a year, making it likely that he could be a double record holder when he completes his high school career in 2016.

Congratulations, Grant, on winning the Swimming World Performance of the Week!

Grant Shoults discusses performances at CIF Southern Section meet

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Kim Gomez

8 years ago

I like guy who swim so keep doing yr thing