Shareef Elaydi's Lightning-Fast Swim Rockets Him Up the Record Books!
Get ready to dive into the thrilling world of competitive swimming! At the 2025 Winter Junior Championships – West, Shareef Elaydi, a 16-year-old phenom, made a splash, literally and figuratively. His incredible time of 1:43.82 in the 200 IM has catapulted him to the #6 spot in the all-time rankings for the 15-16 age group. This is a significant achievement, especially considering his previous best time of 1:44.79 from the previous year, which had placed him at #12 all-time.
Here's a quick look at the event details:
- Event: 2025 Winter Junior Championships – West
- Dates: December 10-13, 2025
- Location: Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center (Austin, Texas)
- Prelims Start Times: 9:00 am CT / 10:00 am ET
- Finals Start Times: 5:00 pm CT / 6:00 pm ET
- Pool Type: SCY (25 Yards)
For those who love to follow the action, here are some helpful links:
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Recaps (Prelims & Finals)
The Boys' 200 IM Finals: A Race for the Ages
The competition was fierce, with some impressive records to beat:
- Overall Meet Record: 1:41.18, held by Maximus Williamson (2023)
- 13-14 NAG Record: 1:45.29, held by Michael Andrew (2014)
- 15-16 NAG Record: 1:41.41, held by Thomas Heilman (2023)
- 17-18 NAG Record: 1:40.81, held by Maximus Williamson (2024)
Here are the top 8 finishers, showcasing the incredible talent on display:
- Shareef Elaydi - 1:43.82
- Ty Thomas - 1:44.21
- Jackson Hartzler - 1:44.49
- Syunta Lee - 1:45.53
- Joey Sudermann - 1:46.02
- Brayden Capen - 1:46.26
- Rowan Cox - 1:48.28
- Joshua Smith - 1:48.84
More Than Just a Race: A Battle for the Record Books
But that's not all! Joining Elaydi in the all-time ranks were Ty Thomas and Jackson Hartzler, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. Hartzler's previous best time of 1:47.33 had placed him at #73 all-time, a testament to the level of competition. Thomas, with a previous best time outside the top 100, also made a significant leap. The race was a nail-biter, with Thomas and Hartzler leading at different stages before Elaydi's powerful breaststroke leg propelled him to victory. Thomas then managed to edge out Hartzler in the final freestyle leg.
The All-Time Top Performers in the 15-16 Boys SCY 200 IM
Here's the exclusive list of the fastest swimmers in the 15-16 age group:
- Thomas Heilman - 1:41.41 (2023)
- Maximus Williamson - 1:42.07 (2022)
- Michael Andrew - 1:42.77 (2015)
- Luca Urlando - 1:42.99 (2018)
- Carson Foster - 1:43.79 (2017)
- Shareef Elaydi - 1:43.82 (2025)
- Reece Whitley - 1:43.93 (2016)
- Andrew Seliskar - 1:44.03 (2013)
- Baylor Stanton - 1:44.04 (2023)
- Ty Thomas - 1:44.21 (2025)
- Luka Mijatovic - 1:44.28 (2025)
- Jackson Hartzler - 1:44.49 (2025)
- Tim Wu - 1:44.55 (2025)
- Destin Lasco - 1:44.59 (2018)
This event was covered by Anya Pelshaw, who has been with SwimSwam since June 2021. She has attended multiple NCAA Championships and US Summer Nationals, providing excellent coverage of the swimming world. What do you think about these incredible performances? Do you think we will see more records broken soon?
