Palisadian Jordan Wilimovsky won the silver medal at the World Junior Open Water swimming championships in Welland, Canada, on August 17 with a time of 1:25.19 in the 7.5-kilometer race, finishing first among U.S. swimmers. Wilimovsky, who is now a freshman at Northwestern University, finished just 20-hundredths of a second behind Germany’s Rob Muffels. ‘It was awesome to be up there representing the U.S. team,’ Wilimovsky said. ‘It’s nice to have all the hard work pay off. I was really happy with my results.’ Though it’s presumptuous to think about the 2016 Olympics at this point, it’s not out of the question for the talented Wilimovsky, at least according to his Team Santa Monica coach, Dave Kelsheimer. ‘It’s definitely a goal of his,’ Kelsheimer said. ‘He’s doing the right thing now and he’s willing to make that a possibility. It’s a big deal, but it’s still way off. We’re all very excited to see what he can do.’ At the U.S. Olympic Trials in July in Omaha, Wilimovsky swam his personal best in the 1,500-meter freestyle preliminary with a time of 15:33.29 and finished 17th overall. ‘This was not just a great performance for this year but also one of the best performances a guy his age has had, and I think it’s a direct result of the hard work that he’s put in,’ Kelsheimer said. As a senior at Malibu High this year, Wilimovsky, who is 5’10’, 140 pounds, swam about 75,000-80,000 yards a week. He enters his collegiate career ranked 73rd in the world in the 1,500-meter freestyle and 22nd in the world in 18-and-unders. With his medal-winning performance in Canada, he earned a spot on the USA National Junior Team for pool and open-water events for 2012-13. Wilimovsky’s parents are Rolf and Wendy. His brother, Alec, is a sophomore at Malibu and participates in triathlons and plays water polo.
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