{"id":534852,"date":"2023-08-05T09:42:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T16:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=534852"},"modified":"2023-08-05T12:49:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T19:49:13","slug":"alex-shackell-maintains-worlds-momentum-with-sizzling-relays-at-junior-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/alex-shackell-maintains-worlds-momentum-with-sizzling-relays-at-junior-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Shackell Maintains Worlds Momentum With Sizzling Relays at Junior Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Shackell Maintains Worlds Momentum With Sizzling Relays at Junior Nationals<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day after narrowly missing the World Championships team in her best event, the 200 butterfly, Alex Shackell<\/strong> pulled a surprise when she dropped four-and-a-half seconds in the 200 freestyle to qualify for Worlds as a relay swimmer in the 800 free relay. Weeks later, the 16-year-old whose best time had recently been above 2:00 was anchoring the U.S. finals squad on the biggest stage, tasked with trying to fend off Olympic gold medalist Ariarne Titmus<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

As expected, Titmus quickly asserted herself on the anchor leg, but Shackell swam a more-than-respectable 1:56.38 (after going 1:56.05 in prelims) to secure a solid silver medal<\/a>. That was all for her first senior-level global experience, but Shackell’s summer of racing was not done. When she left Fukuoka, instead of returning home to Indiana, she went to Irvine, Calif., to join her Carmel Swim Club teammates at Junior Nationals.<\/p>\n

Shackell scratched most her individual events at Juniors, but she suited up for three relay as well as the individual 50 free. In her first swim, she split 24.42<\/a> on the second leg of Carmel’s 200 free relay, eight tenths ahead of her flat-start best time of 25.25. One day later, she led off the 400 free relay in 54.08<\/a>, beating her previous best time of 54.22, and all the sudden, Shackell is ranked among the top-10 Americans this year in the event. Shackell is one of only three teenagers ranking among the top-15, and the other two, Shackell’s 800 free relay teammates\u00a0Bella Sims<\/strong> and\u00a0Erin Gemmell<\/strong>, are both 18, two years older than Shackell.<\/p>\n

Finally, Shackell concluded the meet Friday by racing the 50 freestyle, in which she finished tied for third (25.40), and then swimming butterfly in Carmel’s National-Age-Group-record-setting 400 medley relay. She split 57.51, under her flat-start best time of 57.59 from Nationals and only a half-second off the 57.06 that\u00a0Gretchen Walsh<\/strong>\u00a0split on the U.S. women\u2019s 400 medley relay that won gold at Worlds.<\/p>\n

Again, that’s three days after a 10-hour flight from Japan to California. Even at age 16, that’s a quick turnaround.<\/p>\n

Shackell has also been able to cheer on her teammates, including older brother\u00a0Aaron Shackell<\/strong>, already a winner in the 200 fly, 400 free and 200 free at Juniors<\/a>. Meanwhile, Carmel won the girls’ competition at Juniors by 4.5 points over second-place Crow Canyon, and the team also topped the combined standings.<\/p>\n

The 100 free leadoff leg was a reminder that Shackell will be contending for a spot on next year’s Olympic team in this relay as well as the butterfly events and the 200 free. A swimmer who has never before raced in a semifinal could have a challenging program over the first six days of June’s Olympic Trials with up to 12 potential swims, but quirks in the schedule might work in Shackell’s favor. Here’s what it might look like:<\/p>\n