{"id":575228,"date":"2023-12-22T06:18:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T13:18:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=575228"},"modified":"2023-12-22T06:18:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T13:18:54","slug":"intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/","title":{"rendered":"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>American <strong>Thomas Heilman<\/strong> and Canadian <strong>Ilya Kharun<\/strong> have enjoyed rapid ascents in the last 12 months, ones that may lead to battles on the college and international stages for years to come. And both offer the promise to make the 200 fly one of the most exciting races in global competition\u2014for this Olympic cycle and well beyond.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>History happened just off the podium in the men\u2019s 200 butterfly at last summer\u2019s World Aquatics Championships.<\/p>\n<p>The doors to the race were thrown wide open when world record holder <strong>Kristof Milak<\/strong> of Hungary announced he\u2019d skip the meet in Fukuoka, Japan. The reigning world and Olympic champion, the heir apparent to <strong>Michael Phelps\u2019<\/strong> throne in the 200 fly, Milak remains the favorite any time he takes the blocks in a butterfly event. Although, it is worth noting that Milak&#8217;s extended absence has generated doubt concerning his preparation for the 2024 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n<p>Sans Milak, the field had to find a new favorite. That it was the indominable <strong>Leon Marchand<\/strong> ultimately emerging for gold was no surprise, adding to his individual medley double with a French record in 1:52.43. <strong>Tomoru Honda<\/strong> of Japan held his bronze-medal position from the previous Worlds, with Polish teen <strong>Krzysztof Chmielewski<\/strong> leapfrogging him into silver.<\/p>\n<p>But two of the biggest winners didn\u2019t end up with a medal.<\/p>\n<p>Tied for fourth that day in Fukuoka were two teens: 16-year-old American <strong>Thomas Heilman<\/strong> and 18-year-old <strong>Ilya Kharun<\/strong> of Canada. Both went 1:53.82, 2-tenths off Chmielewski\u2019s silver-winning time in a pulsating final.<\/p>\n<p><strong>FLIPPING INTO THE ELITE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Kharun and Heilman seem destined for their swim journeys to be intertwined. They share not just a specialty, but a birthday\u2014Feb. 7\u2014in 2005 for Kharun, 2007 for Heilman. They were born in between the second and third Olympics swum by Phelps, who remains the measuring stick in the 200 fly. (Ten days after Heilman entered the world, Phelps went 1.53.71 in the 200 fly at the MV Missouri Grand Prix, still among the top 55 performances of all time.)<\/p>\n<p>They also share an uncommonly rapid ascent to the world stage.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_534763\" style=\"width: 416px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-534763\" data-attachment-id=\"534763\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/20th-world-aquatics-championships-fukuoka-2023-467\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230725_GSca_SG67854.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2400,1600\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Giorgio Scala \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 9&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Ilya Kharun of Canada competes in the 200m Butterfly Men Heats during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 25th, 2023.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1690251991&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Giorgio Scala \\\/ Deepbluemedia \\\/ Insidefoto&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;600&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0005&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;20th World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"20th World Aquatics Championships Fukuoka 2023\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;11\/18\/23&lt;br \/&gt;\nIlya Kharun of Canada competes in the 200m Butterfly Men Heats during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 25th, 2023. Sport, Swimming, FINA, Aquatics, World Championships, World Aquatics, Fukuoka, 2023, Fukuoka 2023, Ilya Kharun of Canada, 200m Butterfly Men Heats&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230725_GSca_SG67854-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230725_GSca_SG67854-1024x683.jpg\" class=\" wp-image-534763\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/20230725_GSca_SG67854-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"Ilya Kharun of Canada competes in the 200m Butterfly Men Heats during the 20th World Aquatics Championships at the Marine Messe Hall A in Fukuoka (Japan), July 25th, 2023.\" width=\"406\" height=\"290\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-534763\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Kharun\u2019s journey was unconventional. Born in Montreal, he moved to Las Vegas at a young age to accommodate the careers of his parents, acrobats for Cirque du Soleil. He was one of the swimmers at the forefront of Sandpipers of Nevada\u2019s growth into one of the country\u2019s elite clubs, taking down what at the time was the 15-16 national age group record in the 100 yard fly that had belonged to Luca Urlando.<\/p>\n<p>But when it came time for international competition, the only passport Kharun was found to have was Canadian. That scrapped his chance at swimming at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships for the U.S. Instead, by year\u2019s end, he\u2019d have a maple leaf on his cap and a spot at the World Aquatics Short Course Championships in Melbourne for his first senior international event.<\/p>\n<p>In short order, Kharun has twice tied <strong>Josh Liendo\u2019s<\/strong> Canadian record in the 50 fly at 23.27. He owns the 200 fly mark with that Worlds time. At age 18, he is more than five seconds quicker than any 17-year-old Canadian has ever been (that honor goes to <strong>Kevin Zhang<\/strong> from the last World Junior Championships.) In short course meters, he\u2019s surpassed Liendo at all three distances for national records.<\/p>\n<p>Kharun picked up his first international hardware back in Melbourne in December 2022, winning silver in the 100 fly in a world junior record 49.03. It accompanied a WJR in the 50 fly, which he set twice and tied once, in finishing ninth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe race was amazing,\u201d Kharun said of the 100. \u201cBeing on the same podium with those guys was a really thrilling experience because I didn\u2019t even know\u2014I was hoping to get to that place, but when I touched the wall and saw that I was second, I was like, \u2018Oh my god. It was really, really fun.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>YES, VIRGINIA, THAT IS A RECORD<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That 15-16 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaswimming.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USA Swimming<\/a> NAG that Kharun had to vacate with his nationality swap now belongs to Heilman&#8230;along with the 200 fly and 200 individual medley SCY records&#8230;and both fly long course marks. His time in the LC 200 fly is already faster than Urlando\u2019s 17-18 NAG. And in the 100, his 51.19 is within 9-hundredths of the best time Phelps swam as an 18-and-under. Heilman\u2019s 44.67 in the SCY 100 fly is also quicker than <strong>Aiden Hayes\u2019<\/strong> 17-18 NAG.<\/p>\n<p>It leaves the native of Crozet, Va., with little historical company other than Phelps.<\/p>\n<p>One difference may be in the rapidity of Heilman\u2019s growth in long course. He\u2019d long been projected as a major prospect, setting NAGs at 11-12 (all three fly distances and the 50, 100 and 200 free) and 13-14 (100 and 200 free plus the 400 IM). But he didn\u2019t swim at Olympic Trials in 2021 at age 14. Before trials for Worlds in 2023, his best time in the 200 fly was 1:56.52, set at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacs, the meet where he and Kharun were supposed to be teammates.<\/p>\n<p>But his training at Cavalier Aquatics has jumped into overdrive in the last year. It led to his first senior team, finishing second at Trials in both the 200 fly (to <strong>Carson Foster<\/strong>) and the 100 fly (to <strong>Dare Rose<\/strong>). The 100 didn\u2019t go as well for Heilman in Fukuoka, finishing 16th in prelims and dropping a swimoff to Great Britain\u2019s <strong>Jacob Peters<\/strong> to miss out on semifinals. But the 200 fly he had swum two days earlier more than overshadowed it. He also seems built more for the 200 than for the 100.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI felt like that was one of my strengths, being able to close the last 50, 100 meters,\u201d Heilman said in Fukuoka. \u201cI was just trying to get out and utilize my strength at the end and just came up a little short of getting a medal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>WELCOME TO THE CLUB<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The road to the Olympic podium is littered with swimmers who set records in their teens and never lived up to the promise. But the proximity of Kharun and Heilman to the likes of Milak and Phelps serves to magnify their teenage triumphs. It wasn\u2019t just that they threatened the international podium long before anyone expected. It\u2019s that in the process, they insinuated themselves to the inner sanctum of the event\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n<p>The pair is tied for the 14th-best performer of all-time (and 61st-best performance) in the 200 fly. Kharun\u2019s is a Canadian record. Heilman\u2019s is the fastest time by an American not named <strong>Michael Phelps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Only 47 performances in a textile suit have bested them. Milak may have the monopoly on times under 1:51.50 (he\u2019s done it five times). But the sub-1:54-club is essentially the medal contention cutoff. The time they both posted was only 3-hundredths off the world junior record of&#8230;Milak, the modern-day benchmark in the event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most painful races I\u2019ve ever experienced,\u201d Heilman said. \u201cJust happy to be here&#8230;happy to be able to race the best of the world&#8230;and just had a lot of fun right there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>* * *<\/p>\n<p>The NCAA stage beckons for both. Kharun is already at Arizona State, training alongside Marchand and for International Swimming Hall of Famer, Coach <strong>Bob Bowman<\/strong>. Heilman has chosen a more trailblazing tack, staying home in pledging his future to the University of Virginia. It allows him to stay at Cavalier Aquatics, and he\u2019s attracted a passel of top talents to Charlottesville that he hopes will elevate the men\u2019s program to the echelon in which the three-time-reigning NCAA champion women\u2019s team resides.<\/p>\n<p>The climb remains steep: Milak, at his best, is looking to blaze the path beneath 1:50, and three seconds even in the 200 fly is massive. But Heilman and Kharun have a most elusive commodity on their side: time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly American Thomas Heilman and Canadian Ilya Kharun have enjoyed rapid ascents in the last 12 months, ones<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8367,"featured_media":534326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122077,10],"tags":[129981,125188],"class_list":["post-575228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americas","category-world","tag-ilya-kharun","tag-thomas-heilman"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Fly<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thomas Heilman of the United States and Canadian Ilya Kharun have established themselves as top Olympic contenders in the 200 butterfly.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Thomas Heilman of the United States and Canadian Ilya Kharun have established themselves as top Olympic contenders in the 200 butterfly.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4-1024x683.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sportsdoctormd\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3\"},\"headline\":\"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\"},\"wordCount\":1325,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Ilya Kharun\",\"Thomas Heilman\"],\"articleSection\":[\"-Home Slider\",\"Americas\",\"World\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\",\"name\":\"Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Fly\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00\",\"description\":\"Thomas Heilman of the United States and Canadian Ilya Kharun have established themselves as top Olympic contenders in the 200 butterfly.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg\",\"width\":2400,\"height\":1600,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3\",\"name\":\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Matthew De George - Senior Writer\"},\"description\":\"Matthew De George is the Americas Correspondent for Swimming World Magazine. He's the author of two books on swimming, Duels in the Pool and Pooling Talent. He's also the assistant sports editor for the Delaware County Daily Times in Pennsylvania, where he covers high school and college sports as well as the Philadelphia Union. His work has also appeared in The Guardian and The Athletic.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.swimmingworld.com\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/sportsdoctormd\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/mattdg\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Fly","description":"Thomas Heilman of the United States and Canadian Ilya Kharun have established themselves as top Olympic contenders in the 200 butterfly.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly","og_description":"Thomas Heilman of the United States and Canadian Ilya Kharun have established themselves as top Olympic contenders in the 200 butterfly.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4-1024x683.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@sportsdoctormd","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/"},"author":{"name":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3"},"headline":"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly","datePublished":"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/"},"wordCount":1325,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg","keywords":["Ilya Kharun","Thomas Heilman"],"articleSection":["-Home Slider","Americas","World"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/","name":"Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Fly","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-22T13:18:54+00:00","description":"Thomas Heilman of the United States and Canadian Ilya Kharun have established themselves as top Olympic contenders in the 200 butterfly.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg","width":2400,"height":1600,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini \/ Deepbluemedia \/ Insidefoto"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/intertwined-thomas-heilman-and-ilya-kharun-on-path-to-stardom-in-200-butterfly\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Intertwined, Thomas Heilman and Ilya Kharun On Path to Stardom in 200 Butterfly"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/aff20a2913cc03a514d0343a4c8788f3","name":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cfca9cef277cfa1a9f4150330ba69a2?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Matthew De George - Senior Writer"},"description":"Matthew De George is the Americas Correspondent for Swimming World Magazine. He's the author of two books on swimming, Duels in the Pool and Pooling Talent. He's also the assistant sports editor for the Delaware County Daily Times in Pennsylvania, where he covers high school and college sports as well as the Philadelphia Union. His work has also appeared in The Guardian and The Athletic.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.swimmingworld.com","https:\/\/x.com\/sportsdoctormd"],"url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/mattdg\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/2023-world-championships-4.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-2pDS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8367"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}