{"id":392022,"date":"2019-08-25T12:15:22","date_gmt":"2019-08-25T19:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=392022"},"modified":"2019-08-30T09:23:31","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T16:23:31","slug":"franko-grgic-1446-09-world-junior-record-makes-croatian-ace-fastest-16-year-old-over-1500m-in-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/franko-grgic-1446-09-world-junior-record-makes-croatian-ace-fastest-16-year-old-over-1500m-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Franko Grgic 14:46.09 World Junior Record Makes Croatian Ace Fastest 16-Year-Old Over 1500m In History"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Junior Championships (Franko Grgic 14:46.09)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Budapest, Day 6 Finals<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Men’s 1500m freestyle<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Franko Grgic<\/strong> has been tipped for the top as a potential world-record holder in Europe. On 14:46.09, a World junior record of magnitude and might, the promise of great things from the fastest 16-year-old 1500m freestyle swimmer in history will surely go global.<\/p>\n

Grgic, who turned 16 on the last day of January this year, gave a hint of fine form with a 7:45 win over 800m earlier in the week<\/a> for a world No9 slot in senior waters.<\/p>\n

A 14:46 over 30 laps rocketed him to a new level: 6th in the world this year, Grgic leap-frogged over a Who’ Who of 1500 giants who were good at 16 and went on to claim world records, Olympic and World titles and stand on the biggest podiums.<\/p>\n

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Kieren Perkins, Australia<\/p><\/div>\n

At 16, Kieren Perkins clocked 14:58.05; Grant Hackett – 15:03.67; Gregorio Paltrinieri – 15:04.90.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fastest-ever time for a 16-year-old belongs to the since tainted Sun Yang<\/strong><\/a>, of China, at the 14:48.39 he clocked in heats at a home Olympic Games in Beijing back in 2008. When he tested positive for a heart booster added to the banned-substances list in 2014, Sun told Chinese media that he had been taking the substance for “several years” for a heart condition.<\/p>\n

Hearts will be beating and fireworks set alight this night in Croatia after young Grgic took 2sec and more off the closet of his rivals by 400m, built up to a 4sec lead in 7:53 at 800 – faster than his career best solo 800m coming into the summer season – and by 1000m had the title in his grasp with a 6sec lead.<\/p>\n

There was no stopping him and by the close of business, his 14:46.06 swept him inside the 14:51.55 World junior record of Australia’s Mack Horton<\/strong> in 20-14 and the championship standard the same swimmer set for victory at the global youth gathering in Dubai back in 2013.<\/p>\n

In the lanes beside Grgic, they might have wondered why they were going a touch off their best pace. They weren’t. The silver went to Australian Thomas Neill<\/strong> in 14:59.19, the bronze to Russian Ilia Sibirtsev<\/strong> in 15:05.17.<\/p>\n