Luka Mijatovic Lowers Own NAG Records in 500 Free, 400 IM

Luka Mijatovic -- Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron

Luka Mijatovic Lowers Own NAG Records in 500 Free, 400 IM

At almost every meet in which Luka Mijatovic competes, he breaks at least one National Age Group record, with the 14-year-old Californian owning nine such marks in his age group as he approaches his 15th birthday. Mijatovic’s collection of records includes all three distance freestyle races in both short course yards (500, 1000 and 1650) and long course meters (400, 800 and 1500) plus the 400 IM in both courses and the 200 free in long course.

Over the weekend at the Far Western Championships, Mijatovic re-broke two of his own short course standards, and for the first time, he cleared a 15-16 mark as well. In the 500 free, Mijatovic swam a time of 4:14.83, knocking off the 4:15.71 he swam in December by just under a second. Mijatovic was also under the national standard for the next age group, surpassing the 4:15.36 mark that Drew Kibler swam in 2016, five years before he became a U.S. Olympian. The 15-16 mark does not count yet, but he will surely claim that time as his own shortly after he ages up.

In the 400 IM, Mijatovic lowered the 13-14 NAG record for a third time since December. Thomas Heilman owned the previous record at 3:51.46 from January 2022 before Mijatovic went 3:51.04 and then 3:49.32 at a Nevada Sectionals meet. Now, Mijatovic has gotten down to 3:47.91 in the long medley.

These NAG records came just over a month after Mijatovic set four long course NAG records at a Sectionals meet in Novato, Calif., where he lowered three of his own freestyle marks in addition to breaking Michael Phelps’ record in the 400 IM.

Additionally, Mijatovic won the 200 free at Far Westerns in 1:35.39, moving himself to No. 2 all-time in the age group behind Heilman’s NAG record of 1:34.68, and Mijatovic also won the 200 IM (1:49.22) and 200 backstroke (1:48.92).

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