Luka Mijatovic, a 16-year-old American swimmer has announced himself in the pools and how. The teenager shattered a record previously held by the legend Michael Phelps at the 2025 USA Swimming Championships on Wednesday.
Mijatovic clocked a 200-meter freestyle time of 1:45.92, shattering the previous record for the 15-16 age group, which was 1:47.29.
Furthermore, Mijatovic’s time also set the record for the 17-18 age group, which was previously held by Michael Phelps, at 1:45.99.
Phelps, the most successful olympians of all time with 23 gold medals, has dominated the pool for over a decade. Anyone beating his record is sure to gather attention. With a sensational show, Mijatovic has made a case for himself for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.
For now, the youngster is looking to make it to the World Championships, which will be held in Singapore in July and August. The ongoing US Nationals serves as the platform.
Torri Huske, Bobby Finke, who already won the event’s men’s 1500-meter freestyle, and the accomplished Katie Ledecky were among those competing in Indianapolis.
Luka Mijatovic: The Build-Up
Mijatovic has been building himself up to this moment, having finished first in both the 500-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle at the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships in May. He’s one of the top-ranked high school swimmers in United States, and he currently ranks first in the state of California.
He has been on a record breaking spree at National Age Group (15-16) the past two years and for 13-14 boys before that. He is now on the threshold of breaking onto the senior national team.
His highest finish at last year’s Olympic Trials was 12th in the 400 freestyle. He won gold in the eight-lap at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships last August, making way for this year’s Nationals.
Also Read: USA Swimming Championships: Stars To Watch, Full Schedule, Live Streaming Details
The final heat of the men’s 200 free featured Olympic bronze medalist and short course world champion Luke Hobson as well as Olympians Shaine Casas and Brooks Curry and accomplished collegians Rex Maurer and Gabriel Jett. Luka Mijatovic sat in seventh place through 150 meters, but he covered the final length in 26.63, faster than anyone else in the event. He picked off his competitors on the way to a fourth-place finish in the heat and the fourth-best time of the morning.
Mijatovic clocked 1:45.92, wrecking his previous best time of 1:47.96 by more than two seconds. He also blasted through the 15-16 National Age Group record, knocking 1.37 seconds from the previous top time of 1:47.29 posted by Maximus Williamson in 2023, and the mark is ahead of the 17-18 record of 1:45.99, which belongs to Michael Phelps.
