Malibu’s own Jordan Wilimovsky swam his way to victory at the 2018 USA Swimming Winter National Championships in late November in Greensboro, N.C.
The Malibu High graduate came in first in the men’s 800-meter freestyle—the only competitor of 24 to do so under eight minutes, coming in at 7:56.88 according to the results.
The event took place on the first day of the championships, which started on Wednesday, Nov. 28.
The next day, he took a win in the men’s 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3:50.78, a little more than a second ahead of competitor Mitch D’Arrigo.
He wrapped up the competition with first place in the men’s 1500-meter freestyle; he came in at 15:05.96, ahead of the next competitor by 9.36 seconds.
This is the first chance swimmers had to qualify for the upcoming 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, per Team USA.
This year has been successful for Wilimovsky. In May, he secured the United States Open Water National 10K title followed by a U.S. Swimming Championships win for the 1,500 meter. In August, he won two gold medals and one silver medal at the Pan Pacific Championships in Japan, where he placed second in the men’s 800-meter.
He was the first American to qualify for the Olympic Games in 2016—he came in fourth at the Brazil games with a time of 12:45.03 in the 1,500-meter.