Noah Jaffe Wins Swimmer of the Meet as 2023 National Championships Close

ORLANDO, FLORIDA – After three intense days of competition, the 2023 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships ended on Sunday evening crowning an additional nine of the nation’s best. With his three podium appearances including two gold, Paralympic hopeful Noah Jaffe (Carlsbad, California) won the coveted swimmer of the meet award after recording a total of 7,913 points while Emily Reid was honored with the Amazing Grace award. In honor of late swimmer Grace Bunke, the Amazing Grace award recognizes a developing athlete who displays determination and courage in and out of the pool.

“It feels great (to win the overall medal), I had some ups and downs at this meet but I’m happy overall,” said Jaffe. “I think this year was all about building confidence and believing in myself going into Paris so that’s the biggest thing I’m taking away. In training, I’ve been really changing some things up so I’m excited to see what 2024 will bring.”

Fresh off her international debut in Santiago, 13-year-old Chloe Cederholm (Salt Lake City, Utah) set an American record in the 200m backstroke S10 while Jaffe broke a Pan American and American record in the 200m freestyle S8 to cap off a weekend of record-breaking performances.

More than 110 Para swimmers made their way to Orlando for the last major event of the season. Across the three-day event, a total of 33 national champions stood atop the podium with 13 records broken.

Swimmers will enjoy a short break from competition before the start of the 2024 season which begins in Colorado Springs, Colorado for the Jimi Flowers Classic scheduled to run from Jan. 13-14, 2024, followed by the Para Swimming World Series circuit and U.S. Paralympics Team Trials held June 27-29 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Results from the national championships count towards minimum qualifying standards for swimmers to be eligible to compete at the trials.

All races were mixed class, and results based on the World Para Swimming points system to create an equitable field of play among the different classes. To rewatch any of the action, head over to the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Facebook page. For full timed results, click here. 

Day 3 Results – WPS Points

Women’s 200m Backstroke S1-14

1. Chloe Cederholm – S10
2. Taylor Winnett – S10
3. Piper Sadowski – S14

Men’s 200m Backstroke S1-14

1. Owen McNear – S10
2. Sawyer Mills – S10
3. TJ Donnan – S9

Women’s 100m Freestyle S1-14

1. Morgan Stickney – S7
2. McKenzie Coan – S7
3. Natalie Sims – S9

Men’s 100m Freestyle S1-14

1. Noah Jaffe – S8
2. Braxton Wong – S9
3. Zach Shattuck – S6

Women’s 200m IM SM5-14

1. Olivia Chambers – SM13
2. Grace Nuhfer – SM13
3. Elizabeth Marks – SM6

Men’s 200m IM SM5-14

1. David Abrahams – SM13
2. Lawrence Sapp – SM14
3. David Gelfand – SM9

Women’s 200m Freestyle S1-5,14

1. Leanne Smith – S3
2. Piper Sadowski – S14
3. Abby Kershaw - S14

Men’s 200m Freestyle S1-5, S14

1. Thomas Jakovcevic – S14
2. Trevor Lukacsko – S14
3. Javi Hernandez Rodriguez – S14

Mixed 400m Medley Relay 34 pts.

1. Max Kubik, Kenley Teller, Drennan Shall and Maria Francescotti
2. Noah Thomas, Cali Prochaska, Liberty Freeman and Jon Trawick
3. Hannah Sloan, CJ Symasek, Tomas Rodriguez and Lilah Boykins