Fijian swimmer Tolu Young set a Washington state and All American 4AA record in the 50 yard freestyle at the King County Aquatic Center in the US over the weekend.
The Curtis High School junior went 19.73 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle, nipping Newport of Bellevue’s Liam Campbell in what many consider the marque event of the meet, in an automatic All-America time that reset the Class 4A meet and overall state records in the event.
The Savusavu lad broke the record of 19.81 set three years ago by Glacier Peak’s Matt King. He took more than a tenth of a second off his time just from last Friday’s preliminaries, when he went 19.86.
“I’m surprised I dropped that much,” he said.
“I was really shocked (on Saturday) when I went 19.86. And then I managed to get it to that. I’ve known about it (the record) since last year. I kept my eye on it for a long time. I was surprised I was that close yesterday. I managed to get it.”
His mother Morika Hunter was the proudest as she watched her son achieve the inevitable in another country.
“We were all hoping he would place at state, let alone break the Washington State record! That blew us all away,” she said.
“Tolu the Tadruku (his fun swim nick name) continues to amaze us.
“I’m incredibly proud of his dedication and all the sacrifices he’s had to make to get him to where he is today, school and swim training sessions two times a day starting at 5am and for a 17-year-old that can be challenging, but he loves it.”
Young moved to the US mid 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic and swam for Fiji during the Commonwealth Games at Birmingham.
“My advice to him is enjoy the journey and take the time in the whole experience and always be grateful.”
