2024 SPEEDO SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIPS
Luka Mijatovic became the fastest 15-year-old American in the 800-meter freestyle during the final session of the 2024 Speedo Summer Championships on Saturday night, placing 5th in Irvine with a personal-best 7:57.94.
The Pleasanton Seahawks phenom reached the wall almost two seconds faster than his previous-best 7:59.64 from last August, snapping an uncharacteristic 11-month plateau in the event. Mijatovic now ranks 5th in the U.S. boys 15-16 national age group (NAG) rankings behind only Luke Ellis (7:56.40), Evan Pinion (7:55.92), Bobby Finke (7:55.16), and Larsen Jensen (7:52.05). Pinion was previously the fastest 15-year-old American in the history of this event with his 7:58.93 from 2010.
Mijatovic was a few seconds faster tonight than he was last month at the U.S. Olympic Trials on his way to 17th place (8:01.54). He was 3:58.83 at the midway point of the race tonight and came home in 3:59.11, showing off remarkably balanced splitting.
He wasn’t the only A-finalist who climbed the NAG rankings on Saturday night as Shawmut Aquatic Club 17-year-old William Mulgrew broke the eight-minute barrier for the first time on his way to 3rd place in the 800 free (7:57.71). The Harvard commit (’25) obliterated his previous-best 8:06.28 from April by almost nine seconds, shooting up to 18th in the 17-18 NAG rankings.
