Thomas Heilman Unpacks His First World Championships Performance and Gold Medal

Gold Medal Minute by @swimoutletdotcom Thomas Heilman  captured fans attention December of 2021 as a 14 year old, breaking 14 National Age Group Records over 11 days at three different swimming meets.  18 months later, and only 16 years, Thomas became the youngest member of Team USA's World Championship squad, making it in two events, 100 and 200 meter butterfly -- breaking Michael Phelps' 2001 200 butterfly National Age Group Record  in the process. At 2023 World Championships Heilman shaved more time off his 200 butterfly PB. He made the World Champs final and tied for 4th touching the wall in an astounding 1:53.82 -- the fastest time for any U.S. male under the age of 18. In the 100 butterfly prelim Heilman stopped the clock with 51.77, tying for 16th. At his first World Champs Thomas had to do a swim-off (only the 2nd swim-off of his career) with Team Great Britain's Jacob Peters. Thomas touched the wall in 51.66,  getting edged by Peters.  A swim-off at World Champs sounds like pain, but if you're only 16, it is great developmental experience for the future. In the 4x100 medley prelims Heilman split 51.61, helping to lift Team USA to a center lane in the final to win gold, the first World Championship gold of his career. IN THIS PODCAST: 0:00 Thomas Heilman Introduction 0:27 He shares what it was like being the youngest member of Team USA. 1:40 Breaking a Michael Phelps NAG 5:33 200 Fly Ready Room 6:33 51.19 100 Fly at Trials 8:16 Impact of Michael Phelps and Caeleb Dressel 9:54 100 Fly vs 200 Fly 12:47 Race Prep with Gary Taylor 14:16 Traveling with Team USA 17:36 200 Fly at World Champs 21:57 100 Fly Swim-Off at World Champs 23:30 400 Medley Relay 25:10 College Swimming Future 27:31 Time Off Swimming news courtesy of SwimSwam.com (https://swimswam.com ) Click here to listen and subscribe on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3UGrNWoMK0RqWZCMbOwUPO?si=TeZ03KYLRbi7O6QJfWR6EA Click here to listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fish-out-of-water-the-swimswam-podcast/id1467108547 Click here to listen and subscribe on Podbean https://swimswam.podbean.com/ Click here to listen and subscribe on Google https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9zd2ltc3dhbS5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS9mZWVkLnhtbA Follow SwimSwam on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swimswamnews/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/swimswamnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swimswamnews/ Opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the interviewed guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the hosts, SwimSwam Partners, LLC and/or SwimSwam advertising partners. This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.

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