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13-Year-Old Kayla Han Becomes the Youngest Ever to Swim at the Olympic Trials
California native Kayla Han, who recently turned 13, competed this past month in the USA Swimming Olympic Trials for a spot in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Out of the 1,565 athletes who qualified for the Trials this year, she was the only 13-year-old, making her the youngest ever to qualify for an Olympic Trial as a swimmer.
From Brea, California, Han qualified for the 400 meter IM (Individual Medley) with a time of 4:50.70. In addition to qualifying her for the Trials, the time shattered the age group record previously set by Elizabeth Beisel in 2005 with a time of 4:55.35. Han’s no stranger to breaking records; in the same weekend, she also set the age group record in the 400 meter freestyle with a time of 4:17.65 that took nearly a second off Claire Tuggle’s previous record of 4:18.41, set in 2017.
In the Trials, she electrified with a come-from-behind win in the B final of the women’s 400 meter IM.