FEDERAL WAY, WASHINGTON – MARCH 26: NCAA flags during the Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Championship held at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center on March 26, 2025 in Federal Way, Washington. (Photo by Mollie Handkins/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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As the NCAA swimming season kicks off, two American swimmers from the Paris Olympics are starting their college careers this fall: Thomas Heilman and Claire Weinstein. Both were still in high school when they made the Olympic team in 2024. Let’s take a look at where they’re headed, how they stack up against last year’s NCAA field and what they bring to their new teams.
Thomas Heilman
NANTERRE, FRANCE – JULY 30: Thomas Heilman of Team United States competes in the Men’s 200m Butterfly Semifinals on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 30, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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From Crozet, Virginia, Heilman was just 17 years old during the Paris Olympics, making him the youngest male swimmer to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team since Michael Phelps did so at age 15 in 2000. Heilman attended Western Albemarle High School and trained with Cavalier Aquatics.
He has committed to swim for the University of Virginia under head coach Todd DeSorbo, who was recently named Coach of the Year for the second year in a row at the USA Swimming Golden Goggles Awards. DeSorbo also served as the head coach of the U.S. women’s team at the Paris Games.
Heilman earned a silver medal at the Paris Olympics as part of the 4×100 medley relay, swimming the butterfly leg in the prelims. Individually, he finished 10th in the 200 butterfly and 18th in the 100 butterfly.
He is a two-time World Championships member, helping Team USA win gold in the 4×100 medley relay in Fukuoka in 2023 and later competing again in Singapore in 2025. On the junior level, he is a 15-time national champion in the 18-and-under category.
At Western Albemarle High School, Heilman was a four-time individual state champion, a four-time relay state champion and helped lead his team to four state titles. He also holds 18 American age group records. That includes two in the 17–18 category, five in 15–16, four in 13–14, six in 11–12 and one in the 10-and-under group.
Heilman’s yard times in the 100 butterfly (43.86) and 200 butterfly (1:38.95) would have been the fastest on the University of Virginia’s roster last season. Both times also would have qualified for the ‘A’ final at the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Championships.
Claire Weinstein
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JUNE 04: Claire Weinstein competes in the Women’s 200m Freestyle Final on day two of the Toyota National Championships at Indiana University Natatorium on June 04, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Weinstein was born in White Plains, New York, and qualified for her first U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 at just 13 years old. That same year, she began swimming with the Sandpipers of Nevada after moving to Las Vegas. At 17, she represented Team USA at the Paris Olympics, earning a silver medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay. Weinstein also reached the final in the 200 freestyle.
In addition to her Olympic success, Weinstein won gold in the 4×200 freestyle relay at the 2022 Long Course World Championships in Budapest, helping set a new championship record and the fourth-fastest time ever recorded (7:41.45). She competed at the 2024 Short Course World Championships in Budapest, where she earned gold in the 4×200 freestyle relay and bronze in the 200 freestyle.
She was also a member of the 2023 and 2025 Long Course World Championship teams. At the 2025 meet in Singapore, she captured a silver medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay and a bronze in the 200 freestyle.
Weinstein has committed to swim for the University of California, Berkeley. David Durden, a seven-time NCAA Coach of the Year, serves as Cal’s Director of Swimming & Diving. Weinstein would have held the fastest 200 freestyle time (1:41.10) and 500 freestyle time (4:29.38) on Cal’s roster last season. Her 200 freestyle would have qualified for the ‘A’ final at the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships, and her 500 freestyle time would have won the event.
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