Jordan Wilimovsky Will Swim 25K in Barcelona

Fresh off a successful showing in the Cayman Islands, Palisadian Jordan Wilimovsky, a sophomore swimmer at Northwestern University and former star at Malibu High School, will represent the United States in the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, beginning on Friday through August 3.

Wilimovsky, 19, is one of eight U.S. swimmers who will compete in open-water events, while the other 43 members of the national team will compete in pool events. Wilimovsky will compete in the 25K marathon swim.

“I’m excited to go to Barcelona and represent the United States,” Wilimovsky told the Malibu Times. “I’m a little nervous. I haven’t been in a competition of this caliber, but I am confident in my training and preparation.”

That preparation involves Wilimovsky practicing twice a day, four times a week with his Team Santa Monica club coach Dave Kelsheimer. The coach, who joined TSM in 2010, reached out to Northwestern swimming coach Jarod Schroeder, and Schroeder found room for Wilimovsky on his squad even though the recruiting period had passed.

“Jordan is definitely a workhorse,” Schroeder told the Times. “He likes hard work and doesn’t complain about it. Some kids begrudge some of the harder workouts, but he’s excited about them and challenges himself day in and day out.”

To earn his place on the national team, Wilimovsky placed fourth in the 10K and 5K events at the 2013 USA Swimming Open Water National Championships at Castaic Lake in California in May. In mid-June, Wilimovsky and fellow Palisadian Sean Steele, a sophomore a Palisades High, participated in the Flowers Sea Swim in the Caymans. Wilimovsky finished second overall in both the one-mile and 10K events, posting times of 16:52.86 and 2:02:28.52.

At Northwestern last season, he broke the school’s nine-year-old record in the mile at the Big 10 Championships, swimming 15:03.07 to earn a berth in the NCAA meet, where he lowered the record to 14:58.80 and finished 24th overall.