16-year-old swimmer causes a stir by breaking Michael Phelps' record

(Dan Tri) - Young talent of the American swimming world, Luka Mijatovic, caused a stir when he broke the record of the legend Michael Phelps.

At the 2025 US National Championships, 16-year-old swimmer Luka Mijatovic (from Pleasanton, California) had an impressive performance in the 200m freestyle. Although he only finished 4th in his heat, his time of 1 minute 45.92 seconds made Mijatovic the youngest athlete (16 years old or younger) to achieve this time in history.

Luka Mijatovic made history by breaking Michael Phelps' record at the junior level in the US (Photo: Getty).

The previous record for this age group was 1 minute 47.29 seconds, just 2 seconds more than Mijatovic's time. He also broke the 17-18 age group record held by Michael Phelps (1 minute 45.99 seconds) by 0.07 seconds.

Mijatovic is a rising star in American swimming. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the California high school swimming rankings and No. 2 in the nation. At the recent California State Championships, Mijatovic dominated the track, winning both the 200m and 500m freestyle.

The 16-year-old swimmer shows no less development potential than Phelps (Photo: Getty).

The young athlete is part of a group of students who will graduate in 2027, just one year before the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. He is expected to be a bright face for the US swimming team in the Olympics held on home soil.

Legendary Michael Phelps has participated in 5 Olympic Games, starting with the Sydney Olympics in 2000. The 39-year-old athlete is the athlete who has won the most gold medals in Olympic history with a total of 23 gold medals, far surpassing all other competitors. Meanwhile, Phelps' former teammate, Katie Ledecky, is currently the female athlete with 9 Olympic gold medals.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/kinh-ngu-16-tuoi-gay-chan-dong-khi-pha-ky-luc-cua-michael-phelps-20250605093324084.htm