Wikipedia

Kaii Winkler

Kaii Liam Winkler (born 2006) is a German-American competitive swimmer. He is a world junior record holder in the long course 4×100-meter freestyle relay. At the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, he won gold medals in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay and 4×100-meter medley relay, as well as a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. Since 2024, he represents team Germany internationally.

Kaii Winkler
Personal information
Full nameKaii Liam Winkler
National teamGermany
BornMarch 27, 2006
Florida, United States
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubEagle Aquatics
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  United States
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Junior Pan Pac Championships 1 2 0
Total 1 2 0
Junior Pan Pac Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Honolulu 4×100 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2022 Honolulu 4×100 m medley
Silver medal – second place 2022 Honolulu 50 m freestyle

Background

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Winkler is homeschooled for high school, competing scholastically as part of the South Florida Heat.[1][2] He has an older brother, Finn, who is also a competitive swimmer.[3]

Career

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2021–2022

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At his first Florida High School 1A State Championships in the autumn of 2021, Winkler placed second in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 44.00 seconds and second in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:36.78.[1] In March the following year, he became the fastest American 15-year-old swimmer in history in the long course 100-meter freestyle with a time of 50.24 seconds at the 2022 Piranhas Senior Invitational in Florida.[4] In April, at the 2022 USA Swimming International Team Trials held in Greensboro, North Carolina, he placed fourth in the c-final of the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.95 seconds and 33rd in the 200-meter freestyle with a 1:52.05.[5] The next month, USA Swimming selected him to the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships roster in the 100-meter freestyle based on his results at the International Team Trials.[6]

2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships

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2022 Junior Pan Pac Championships
  4×100 m freestyle 3:15.79 (WJ,CR)
  4×100 m medley 3:36.65 (CR)
  50 m freestyle 22.50

Day one of four at the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, held in August and contested at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Honolulu, Winkler placed fourth in the b-final of the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:50.81 after swimming a personal best time of 1:50.07 in the preliminary heats.[7][8] On the second day, he placed second in the b-final of the 100-meter freestyle with a 50.12, after swimming a personal best time of 49.47 seconds in the preliminary heats, and contributed a split of 1:51.27 for the fourth leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay to help win the exhibition heat with a time of 7:22.66.[7][9]

In his first event of the evening session on day three, Winkler won the b-final of the 100-meter butterfly with a personal best time of 53.94 seconds.[7] Later in the session, he split a 48.95 for the anchor, fourth, leg of the 4×100-meter freestyle relay in the final to help win the gold medal and set a new world junior record and Championships record of 3:15.79 with finals relay teammates Thomas Heilman, Henry McFadden, and Daniel Diehl.[7][10][11][12][13] The following, and final, day, he tied fellow American Diggory Dillingham for the silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle with a personal best time of 22.50 seconds.[14] In the 4×100-meter medley relay final, he and relay teammates Daniel Diehl (backstroke), Zhier Fan (breaststroke), and Thomas Heilman (butterfly), won the gold medal with a Championships record time of 3:36.65.[13][15][16] He contributed a split time of 49.18 seconds for the freestyle leg of the relay.[7]

2022 U.S. Open Championships

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Leading up to the year's U.S. Open, Winkler competed at the 2022 Florida 1A High School State Championships in Stuart, Florida, where he won the 100-yard freestyle with a National Age Group record time of 42.52 seconds for the boys 15–16 age group on November 18, which was 0.15 seconds faster than the former record by Ryan Hoffer in 2014.[2][17] He also won the state title in the 200-yard freestyle, in which he set a Florida high school record with a 1:34.18.[2][3]

At the 2022 U.S. Open Swimming Championships, held in November and December in Greensboro, North Carolina, Winkler tied for nineteenth-place in the 50-meter freestyle on day two with a time of 22.97 seconds, which qualified him for the c-final.[18] He lowered his time to a 22.82 in the evening to win the c-final.[19] The following day, he swam a 1:50.97 in the preliminary heats of the 200-meter freestyle to qualify for the b-final ranking eleventh across all preliminary heats.[20] Improving his time in the evening finals session, he won the b-final with a time of 1:50.26, which was 2.88 seconds slower than a-final winner Jake Mitchell.[21] For his final event, the 100-meter freestyle on day four, he ranked seventh in the preliminary heats and qualified for the a-final with a time of 49.56 seconds.[22] In the evening final, he achieved a sixth-place finish with a personal best time of 49.45 seconds.[23]

2022 Winter Junior National Championships

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Later in December, at the 2022 Winter Junior US National Championships, Winkler finished in a personal best time of 19.70 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle to place fourth at the East edition of the meet. The following day, he placed second in the 200-yard freestyle with a personal best time of 1:33.36.[24] In the morning preliminaries on the fourth and final day, he swam a personal best time and new boys 15–16 National Age Group record of 42.21 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle to qualify for the final ranking first, his time broke the record he set in the event less than one month earlier at 42.52 seconds.[25][26] He won the event in the evening with a time of 42.22, which was one-hundredth of a second slower than his time in the morning.[24][27]

2023

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At the second stop of the 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series in March in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Winkler started competition on the second day with a national age group record for the boys 15–16 age group in the 100-meter freestyle, finishing in a time of 48.81 seconds in the preliminaries and qualifying for the final ranking third.[28][29] In the evening he finished in 49.11 seconds to place fourth, 0.83 seconds behind gold medalist Dylan Carter.[30] The following day, he placed second in the b-final of the 200-meter freestyle with a personal best time of 1:49.02.[31] The fourth and final day, he placed sixth in the final of the 100-meter butterfly with a personal best time of 52.64 seconds.[32] For his final event, he won the b-final of the 50-meter freestyle in a personal best time of 22.49 seconds, finishing two-hundredths of a second ahead of the second-quickest b-final finisher Diogo Ribeiro of Portugal.[33] Fifteen days later, he lowered his personal best time and national age group record in the 100-yard freestyle for the boys 15–16 age group to a time of 41.96 seconds at the 2023 Florida Gold Coast Swimming Championships.[34][35]

International championships

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Meet 50 freestyle 100 freestyle 200 freestyle 100 butterfly 4×100 freestyle 4×200 freestyle 4×100 medley
PACJ 2022
(age: 16)		  
(22.50)		 2nd (b)
(50.12)		 4th (b)
(1:50.81)		 1st (b)
(53.94)		  
(3:15.79 WJ, CR)		 exb[a]
(7:22.66)		  
(3:36.65 CR)
a Winkler swam only in exhibition.

Personal best times

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Long course meters (50 m pool)

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Event Time Meet Location Date Notes Ref
50 m freestyle 22.49 b 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 4, 2023 [33]
100 m freestyle 48.81 h 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 2, 2023 NAG [28]
200 m freestyle 1:49.02 b 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 3, 2023 [31]
100 m butterfly 52.64 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 4, 2023 [32]
Legend: NAG – USA Swimming National Age Group record (boys 15–16);
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

Short course yards (25 yd pool)

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Event Time Meet Location Date Notes Ref
50 yd freestyle 19.44 2022 Florida Gold Coast Swimming Championships Pembroke Pines, Florida March 18, 2023 [35]
100 yd freestyle 41.96 2023 Florida Gold Coast Swimming Championships Pembroke Pines, Florida March 19, 2023 NAG [34]
200 yd freestyle 1:32.68 2023 FHSAA State 1A championship Ocala, Florida November 4, 2023 [36]
Legend: NAG – USA Swimming National Age Group record (boys 15–16);
Records not set in finals: h – heat; sf – semifinal; r – relay 1st leg; rh – relay heat 1st leg; b – B final; † – en route to final mark; tt – time trial

World records

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World junior records

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Long course meters (50 m pool)

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No. Event Time Meet Location Date Status Ref
1 4×100 m freestyle 3:15.79 2022 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Honolulu, Hawaii August 26, 2022 Current [7][10][11][12][13]

National age group records

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Long course meters (50 m pool)

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No. Event Time Meet Location Date Age Age Group Ref
1 100 m freestyle 48.81 h 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series - Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, Florida March 2, 2023 16 15–16 [28][29]

Legend: h – preliminary heat

Short course yards (25 yd pool)

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No. Event Time Meet Location Date Age Age Group Ref
1 100 yd freestyle 42.52 2022 Florida 1A High School State Championships Stuart, Florida November 18, 2022 16 15–16 [17][2]
2 100 yd freestyle (2) 42.21 h 2022 Winter Junior US National Championships Greensboro, North Carolina December 10, 2022 16 15–16 [24][25][26]
3 100 yd freestyle (3) 41.96 2022 Florida Gold Coast Swimming Championships Pembroke Pines, Florida March 19, 2023 16 15–16 [34][35]

Legend: h – preliminary heat

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Curreri, Gary (December 25, 2021). "Broward boys swimming first team, second team, honorable mention, coach of the year". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Overend, Riley (November 18, 2022). "Kaii Winkler Breaks Caeleb Dressel's 200 FR FHSAA Record, Then Sets 100 FR NAG Mark". SwimSwam. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Curreri, Gary (November 20, 2022). "South Florida Heat juniors Erika Pelaez, Kaii Winkler double-winners at 1A state swimming". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  4. ^ Hamann, Michael (March 7, 2022). "Kaii Winkler Blasts 50.24 LCM 100 Free, Fastest American 15-Year Old Ever". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  5. ^ USA Swimming (April 30, 2022). "2022 Phillips 66 International Team Trials: Results Book". Omega Timing. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "2022 Junior Pan Pacific Championships U.S. Roster - Version 2". USA Swimming. 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Hy-Tek (August 24, 2022). "2022 Jr Pan Pacific Swimming Championships: Results". swmeets.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  8. ^ USA Swimming (August 24, 2022). "Day 1 Finals | Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships". YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  9. ^ USA Swimming (August 25, 2022). "Day 2 Finals | Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships". YouTube. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Lohn, John (August 26, 2022). "United States breaks World Junior Record in 400 Freestyle Relay at Junior Pan Pacs". Swimming World. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Penland, Spencer (August 27, 2022). "U.S. Breaks Boys 4×100 Free Relay World Junior Record (3:15.79), Diehl Splits 48.6". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Sagendorph, Kyle (August 27, 2022). "U.S. Captures World Junior Record in 4x100 Free Relay at Junior Pan Pacs". USA Swimming. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c "Diehl helps set 4x100 freestyle world junior record". Cumberland Times-News. August 28, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  14. ^ Sagendorph, Kyle (August 28, 2022). "U.S. Wraps Junior Pan Pacific Championships with 46 Medals, Team of the Meet Honors". USA Swimming. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  15. ^ Penland, Spencer (August 28, 2022). "Heilman Throws Down 51.71 Fly Split As U.S. Breaks 4×100 Medley Jr Pan Pac Record". SwimSwam. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  16. ^ "Conclusi i Campionati Pan Pacific Juniores. Tutti i vincitori. Tripletta d'oro per Southan, Staples e Gemmel" (in Italian). nuoto.com. August 28, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Lohn, John (November 18, 2022). "Kaii Winkler Breaks NAG (15-16) Record in 100 Freestyle At Florida State Champs". Swimming World. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  18. ^ USA Swimming (December 1, 2022). "2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Men's 50m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  19. ^ USA Swimming (December 1, 2022). "2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Men's 50m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  20. ^ USA Swimming (December 2, 2022). "2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Men's 200m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  21. ^ USA Swimming (December 2, 2022). "2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Men's 200m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  22. ^ USA Swimming (December 3, 2022). "2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Men's 100m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  23. ^ USA Swimming (December 3, 2022). "2022 Toyota U.S. Open Championships: Men's 100m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  24. ^ a b c "2022 East Speedo Winter Junior Championships: Results". USA Swimming. December 10, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  25. ^ a b Lohn, John (December 10, 2022). "Winter Juniors-East: Summer McIntosh Stars Again, Kaii Winkler Sets NAG During Fast Prelims Session (Live Updates)". Swimming World. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Gibbs, Robert (December 10, 2022). "Kaii Winkler Lowers 15-16 100 Free NAG Record with 42.21 Prelims Swim in Greensboro". SwimSwam. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  27. ^ Lohn, John (December 10, 2022). "Hot Streak For Daniel Diehl Continues With Sub-1:40 Blast in 200 Backstroke At Winter Juniors". Swimming World. Retrieved December 10, 2022.
  28. ^ a b c USA Swimming (March 2, 2023). "2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 100m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  29. ^ a b Keith, Braden (March 2, 2023). "Kaii Winkler Breaks US 15-16 Age Group Record in the 100 Free, Moves to #5 in the World". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  30. ^ USA Swimming (March 2, 2023). "2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 100m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  31. ^ a b USA Swimming (March 3, 2023). "2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 200m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  32. ^ a b USA Swimming (March 4, 2023). "2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 100m Butterfly Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  33. ^ a b USA Swimming (March 4, 2023). "2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Fort Lauderdale: Men's 50m Freestyle Final Results". Omega Timing. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  34. ^ a b c Zacharias, Sidney (March 19, 2023). "Kaii Winkler Blasts 41.96 100 FR To Become First 15-16 Year-Old To Break 42-Seconds". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  35. ^ a b c De George, Matthew (March 20, 2023). "Kaii Winkler Goes 41.96 100 Free to Lower His 15-16 NAG Record". Swimming World. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  36. ^ Li, Yanyan (March 17, 2023). "Kaii Winkler Swims 1:33.28 200-Yard Free To Become #2 All-Time In U.S. 15-16 Age Group". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  37. ^ "HEAT's Kaii Winkler named state's Mr. Swimming. Plus basketball, soccer and wrestling results". Miami Herald. December 16, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  38. ^ McPherson, Jordan (January 26, 2022). "South Florida HEAT's Erika Pelaez and Kaii Winkler are Broward Swimmers of the Year". Miami Herald. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  39. ^ "Erika Pelaez, Kaii Winkler: Broward swimmers of the year". Miami Herald. January 6, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  40. ^ Curreri, Gary (December 23, 2022). "Broward boys swimmer of the year: Kaii Winkler, South Florida HEAT junior". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
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