By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam
See all of our 2025 Swammy Awards here
It was a clear-cut decision to name Claire Weinstein and Campbell McKean the 2025 Swammy Award winners for U.S. 17–18 Age Group Swimmers of the Year. There was little debate, as both qualified for Team USA in multiple events at this past summer’s World Championship Trials and returned from Worlds with hardware.
17-18 Girls
Winner: Claire Weinstein, Sandpipers of Nevada (Coach: Ron Aitken)
Coming into 2025, Weinstein was far from unknown, having been a mainstay on Team USA’s senior international stage since 2022, when she broke through at age 15. She has consistently been one of the world’s top 200 freestylers and has only gotten better year over year.
Weinstein burst onto the scene at the 2022 U.S. Trials, dropping more than a second from her 200 free personal best (1:57.08) and qualify for the World Championships. The Sandpipers of Nevada product improved down to 1:56.94 in Budapest, placing 10th, and then she further improved leading off the U.S. women’s 800 free relay, clocking 1:56.71 to help propel the Americans to gold and a new American Record of 7:41.45.
In 2023, she upended Katie Ledecky at U.S. Nationals in a time of 1:55.26, and went on to place 12th at the World Championships (and was left off the U.S. 4×200 free relay).
Last year, Weinstein rebounded from an off swim at the beginning of the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 400 free, qualifying for the Olympic team in the 200 free (1:56.18) and then taking a big step on the major international stage in Paris, making the individual final and placing eighth. She saved her best for the women’s 4×200 free relay, however, leading off in a lifetime best of 1:54.88 as the Americans won silver. That swim ranked Weinstein sixth in the world for the year, and she was also 13th in the 800 free (8:23.73) and 14th in the 400 free (4:04.54).
But this year, she really ramped things up with a breakthrough meet at the U.S. National Championships, which doubled as the selection meet for Team USA’s World Championship team. On the opening night of competition, Weinstein first placed eighth in the 100 free final in a lifetime best of 53.72, and then followed up by unleashing a stunning back half in the 800 free, outsplitting Ledecky coming home while running down Jillian Cox to snag silver in 8:19.67 and qualify for the Worlds team.
Weinstein entered the meet with personal bests of 54.43 in the 100 free and 8:21.00 in the 800 free, and dropping lifetime bests in both events back-to-back on opening night was an early signal she was on form.
Less than 24 hours later, Weinstein won the 200 free in a head-to-head battle with Ledecky, clocking 1:54.92, finishing just four one-hundredths shy of her lifetime best set at the Paris Olympics (1:54.88).
After her win in the 200 free on Day Two, Weinstein was the runner-up to Ledecky in the 400 free on Day Four, setting a best time of 4:00.05, and closed out the meet with another second-place finish and new best time in the 1500 free (16:01.96). Weinstein’s new best times moved her into fourth all-time in the girls’ 17-18 age group in the 800 free, 5th in the 100 free and 6th in the 1500 free, while she maintained her #2 ranking in the 400 free while inching closer to Ledecky’s NAG of 3:58.37.
All roads led to the World Championships in Singapore, where on the opening day Weinstein was presumed to be among the many U.S. swimmers who had fallen ill after she withdrew from the 400 free.
Despite the scratch, she lined up behind the blocks for the 200 free and went on to become the lone female junior to win an individual medal at the meet, capturing bronze in a time of 1:54.67. Weinstein produced the three fastest 200 free swims of her career in Singapore, also clocking 1:54.69 to lead the semifinals before leading off the U.S. women’s 4×200 free relay in 1:54.83 as the Americans won silver and set a new American Record.
Weinstein’s swim in the 200 free final narrowly missed the U.S. 17-18 National Age Group Record of 1:54.43, set by Katie Ledecky in 2016, and ranks her #2 all-time among junior swimmers by the World Aquatics definition (18 as of December 31 – Ledecky would turn 19 two months after her swim), trailing only Summer McIntosh and her World Junior Record of 1:53.65.
She capped off the competition by adding nearly 20 seconds to place 17th in the 800 free (8:38.70). Note that she withdrew from the 1500 at the end of the Trials meet to lower her overall load.
Weinstein concluded the year ranked third in the world in the 200 free, fifth in the 400 free, eighth in the 800 free, 10th in the 1500 free and 25th in the 100 free.
While she did not target any major SCY meets throughout the year, Weinstein clocked a season-best 4:29.42 in the 500 free in March, a mark that would have won the women’s NCAA title by more than two seconds. Her season-best 1:42.37 in the 200 free would have earned fifth place, while her 15:59.82 in the 1650 free would have slotted her into the top 20.
Honorable Mention:
Charlotte Crush (Lakeside Swim Club) – Crush was on fire at the World Championship Trials, making the ‘A’ final in the 100 fly (fourth), 100 back (sixth) and 200 back (seventh) and setting best times in all three of those events while adding top-16 finishes in the 50 back (15th) and 50 fly (ninth). Crush had a standout swim in the prelims of the 200 back, qualifying 1st into the final in a massive lifetime best of 2:07.05 to rank 6th all-time in the girls’ 17-18 age group. She went on to take 7th in the final in 2:08.39, which is still under her PB coming into the meet (2:09.71). At the World Junior Championships in mid-August, Crush captured gold in the 100 back (59.52) and silver in the 200 back (2:07.83), while also finishing fourth in the 100 fly (58.26), eighth in the 50 back (28.55), and ninth in the 50 fly (26.43). She led off the girls’ 4×100 medley relay with a 1:00.00 backstroke split, helping Team USA secure the gold, and swam a 58.20 fly leg in the mixed 4×100 medley relay that took silver. Her meet also featured a PB of 59.21 in the 100 back semis and a best of 58.00 in the 100 fly heats. Despite only turning 17 in March, she now ranks sixth all-time in the 17-18 age group in the 200 back, eighth in the 100 back, and 10th in the 100 fly.17-18 Boys
Winner: Campbell McKean, Bend Swim Club (Coach: Jim Nickell)
Before this summer, McKean wasn’t a well-known name unless you’re a swim nerd, but the signs of his breakout potential were there during the 2023-24 long course season. Between March and June, he hacked nearly four seconds from his best of 1:04.73, dropping down to 1:01.00 to finish 21st in the 100 breast at the Olympic Trials, where he also placed 26th in the 200 IM (2:01.30).
That summer, he earned his first international berth at the Junior Pan Pacs, where he finished as the runner-up in the 100 breast (1:01.13), just five-hundredths behind another rising teenage breaststroker, Shin Ohashi. He also placed ninth in the 200 IM (2:01.70) and 10th in an off-event, the 100 fly (53.72).
Following that meet, he didn’t race long course until the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series stop in May. There, he threw down a near-PB of 1:01.38 in the 100 breast prelims before dropping to 1:00.40 in finals to take third as the highest-placing American. He also finished fourth in the 50 breast with a 27.40, breaking 28 seconds for the first time and finishing as the second-fastest American behind former American record holder Michael Andrew (27.01). Between the two events, McKean showed he could be in the mix for a Worlds berth in a month’s time.
When Nationals rolled, McKean simply delivered. The 18-year-old made history on multiple counts, starting with the 50 breast. In prelims, he sliced a few tenths off his lifetime best with a 27.14, advancing to finals as the co-top seed alongside Andrew. When it counted, McKean clocked 26.90 to out-touch Andrew (26.92) and book his ticket to the World Championships, becoming the fifth-fastest American in history.
Next up was the 100, and with Nic Fink not entering the competition, the U.S. was in dire need of someone to step up. McKean did just that.
He raced to a lifetime-best 1:00.18 in prelims, situating himself just under four-tenths behind top seed Josh Matheny (59.80), before slaughtering his best time in finals. He dropped more than a second to clock 58.96, breaking Michael Andrew’s National Age Group Record for 17-18 boys (59.82) by 86 one-hundredths to beat out Matheny by 22 one-hundredths.
Additionally, McKean tied Eric Shanteau for sixth all-time among Americans in the event and became the fastest 18-and-under swimmer ever (by birthday) and the first under the 59-second barrier, overtaking Italian Nicolo Martinenghi‘s 59.01.
McKean capped off the meet with a 5.72-second drop in the 200 breast, swimming 2:12.36 in prelims before finishing sixth in the final with a time of 2:11.13. He also posted a season-best 2:01.48 for 16th in the 200 IM.
At the World Championships, McKean was one of the swimmers hindered by illness, ultimately touching 15th in the 100 breast (59.74) and 24th in the 50 breast (27.32). Despite the setback, he contributed a 59.07 breast leg to help the mixed 4×100 medley relay finish 10th and walked away a silver medalist courtesy of his 59.32 breast split on the prelims of the men’s 4×100 medley relay.
Honorable Mentions:
Ryan Erisman (Laker Swim) – The now Cal freshman had a huge showing at the U.S. Trials, highlighted by his third-place finish in the 400 free. In a head-to-head battle with Luka Mijatovic for second, he clocked a time of 3:46.01, breaking Larsen Jensen‘s 17-18 NAG Record of 3:46.08 set nearly 21 years earlier. Erisman entered the meet with a career best of 3:48.57, and improved that slightly to 3:48.19 in the prelims. He also touched 15th in the 200 free (1:47.52) and fifth in the 800 free (7:54.64), dropping 77 one-hundredths in the former and nearly four and a half seconds in the latter. Thomas Heilman (Cavalier Aquatics) – Heilman twice lowered his 17-18 NAG Record in the 100 fly at the World Championship Trials, first notching 50.78 in the prelims before getting down to 50.70 in the final, placing 2nd to Shaine Casas and earning a spot on the Worlds team. Coming into the meet, Heilman held the NAG record at 50.80, set at the 2024 Olympic Trials. The 18-year-old also placed 3rd in the 200 fly in 1:54.03, just over two-tenths shy of his personal best (1:53.82), and added new lifetime bests in the 50 fly (23.57) and 50 free (22.79), placing 7th and 28th. Gabe Nunziata (Old Dominion Aquatic Club) – Nunziata had a breakthrough performance at U.S. Nationals, chopping more than two seconds off his lifetime best in the 200 breast to finish third in 2:09.71 (earning World Juniors qualification), just four-tenths shy of a Worlds berth and moving him to #2 all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group. The now Tennessee freshman came into the meet with a PB of 2:11.78 and had gone 2:10.22 in the prelims. Nunziata also set best times en route to placing 15th in the 50 breast (28.16 prelims), 25th in the 200 IM (2:01.39) and 21st in the prelims of the 400 IM (4:23.77) before scratching the final. His swim in the 200 IM ranks him 30th all-time among 17-18s. In the 100 breast, the 18-year-old placed 7th in 1:00.86, a half-second shy of his PB set at the 2024 Olympic Trials (1:00.36) that ranks him 6th all-time in the age group. At the World Junior Championships, Nunziata kept it rolling, slicing another five-hundredths off his 200 breast best to claim bronze. He also posted a season-best 1:00.54 to place seventh in the 100 breast, finished 23rd in the 50 breast (28.40), and helped Team USA’s 400 medley relay secure fifth place with a 1:00.35 breaststroke leg.PAST WINNERS
YEAR 17-18 GIRL 17-18 BOY 2023 Katie Grimes Maximus Williamson 2022 Claire Curzan Daniel Diehl 2021 Torri Huske Baylor Nelson 2020 Regan Smith Josh Matheny 2019 Regan Smith Luca Urlando 2018 Erica Sullivan Drew Kibler 2017 Olivia Carter Michael Andrew 2016 Katie Drabot Michael Andrew 2015 Katie Ledecky Andrew Seliskar 2014 Katie Ledecky Andrew Seliskar 2013 Missy Franklin Caeleb Dressel 2012 Missy Franklin Jack Conger
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