Luka Mijatovic Becomes Fastest 17-Year-Old Ever in 800m Free, Breaks US 17-18 Age Group Record

Key Points:

• American swimmer Luka Mijatovic set a new 17-18 National Age Group Record in the boys’ 800 meter freestyle at the 2026 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Vancouver, finishing with a time of 7:44.52 and beating the previous record by 0.67 seconds.
• Mijatovic's swim was a significant personal best, dropping about two seconds from his previous best time, with a notably faster second half of the race and a strong closing 100 meters split of 55.69 seconds.
• His time ranks him as the 6th-fastest American ever in the men's 800m freestyle and would have earned him a bronze medal at the recent Pan Pacs; globally, he is now 36th all-time in the event.
• In addition to the 800m, Mijatovic won gold in the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:46.04, narrowly missing Michael Phelps’ National Age Group Record, and he still has entries in the 100m, 400m, and 1500m freestyle events this week.
• Mijatovic previously set the 400m freestyle National Age Group Record at US Nationals with a time of 3:43.45 and continues to demonstrate strong performances across multiple freestyle distances.