"Way to go"; "so amazing at 17"- Fans react to Thomas Heilman becoming youngest male swimmer to qualify for the Olympics since 2000

After qualifying for the Summer Games on Day 5 of the US Swimming Olympic Trials, Thomas Heilman garnered a lot of attention from his fans. The 17-year-old will become the youngest male Olympian to compete in Paris, after winning the 200m butterfly event at the trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Heilman is a Western Albemarle High School student who broke Michael Phelps' 22-year-old NAG record of 1:54.58 in the 200m butterfly by clocking 1:54.54 at the 2023 U.S. National Championships. He has surpassed over 25 National Age Group records, is a six-time Jr. Pan Pacs medalist, and is also the youngest swimmer ever to go sub-52 in the 100m butterfly at the 2022 Jr Pan Pacific Championships.

The 17-year-old is now the youngest swimmer after Phelps (2000) to punch an Olympic ticket. Notably, Phelps qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics at 15 years of age. He cruised to victory in the 200m butterfly event after clocking a time of 1:54.50 and bested Luca Urlando, who recorded a time of 1:55.08.

NBC Olympics & Paralympics shared the video of Heilman's race on X and wrote:

"Thomas Heilman is 17 years old and just qualified for his FIRST Olympic Games."

Stunned by his performance at such a young age, one of the fans commented,

"Way to go, youngster!!💪"

Another follower, impressed by the win, said,

"So amazing at 17!"

One of Heilman's fans congratulated him on the victory.

"Sooo exciting, Congratulations!" the fan said.

Another follower hyped up the 17-year-old by commenting,

"Let's gooooo! Congrats Thomas! You had a mission and made it happen!"

Along similar lines, another fan chimed in:

"So glad my 200 flier got to see this in person!! Phenomenal race."

Thomas Heilman opens up about his comparison with Michael Phelps

Thomas Heilman expressed about being in the same conversation as Michael Phelps after clinching his ticket to Paris and becoming the youngest to do so since Phelps in 2000. In the post-swim interview with SwimmingWorld.com on Day 4 of the US Swimming Olympic Trials, he also spoke about how "special" the win was for him.

"It's always great to be in the same conversation as him (Phelps)," Thomas Heilman said. "But I try not to worry about it too much but try to take things day by day through the rest of the meet and into Paris."

He added,

"Looking up at the board and seeing my name at the top was really special. It's a goal I've had for years now, and kind of just to see it up there was some disbelief, but it was just a really special moment."

Thomas Heilman is a world junior record holder in the long course 4x100m freestyle relay and has broken several National Age Group records under the age of 18. He will next be seen representing the US at the Paris Olympics 2024, which is slated to be held from July 26 - August 11.