Malibu resident Jordan Wilimovsky finished 17th out of 91 swimmers in the men’s 1500 meter freestyle at the Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha, Neb., last Sunday.
“I was trying not to be nervous for the start but it was really exciting,” said Wilmovsky, 18. Coming to Omaha, Wilimovsky said, “I just wanted to do my best time.” And he did.
Wilimovsky’s time of 15:33.29 was a personal best, beating his previous top mark by 1.65 seconds in a dramatic improvement.
“I was out faster than I’ve ever been. I was really happy with that,” said Wilimovsky, who swims with Team Santa Monica and is coached by Dave Kelsheimer.
The 2012 Malibu High graduate went up against some fierce competition in the 91-man field, including Peter Vanderkaay, a 28-year-old, three-time Olympic medalist who holds the Olympic trials record of 14:45.54 (in 2008). Vanderkaay placed fourth on Sunday with a time of 15:08.93.
The experience fulfilled a lifelong dream for Wilimovsky, who said he has been aiming to swim in the Olympic trials “ever since I was a kid.”
But according to his coach, Jordan’s career is just starting.
Wilimovsky is headed to Northwestern University in the fall on a swimming scholarship. Kelsheimer says Wilimovsky is the fastest 1500 meter swimmer to go there. In the interim, he will represent the U.S. at the 1st FINA World Junior Open Water Swimming Championships in Welland, Ontario, Canada, in August. He’s training hard for the event: 10 swims, or about 75,000-80,000 yards, per week.
Keep your eye on Jordan. He’s going places in the swimming world—probably to the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.