By Will Baxley on SwimSwam
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Laon Kim, a Junior Pan Pacific Silver medalist for Canada, announced his verbal commitment to the University of Texas’ class of 2030.
“I am proud to announce my verbal commitment to the University Of Texas. After some careful and thorough consideration, I feel ready to take my athletic and academic career to the next level. I want to thank coaches Carl, Dave, Nick, family and teammates for all the support and guidance. Looking forward to working with @coach_bowman, @erik_posegay, @coachmaida in the future! 
”
Kim is a mid-distance freestyler. At the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, he won silver in the 100 free, clocking a personal best of 49.37. This is a massive .85 second time drop from Canadian Olympic Trials at the beginning of the summer. Notably, he also split 48.56 anchoring Canada’s Junior Pan Pac medley relay.
Previously, he broke the Canadian 13-14 age group national record in every freestyle event as well as the 400 IM.
Best LCM times (converted)
- 100 free – 49.37 (43.03)
- 400 free – 3:55.14 (4:23.46)
- 200 free – 1:49.62 (1:35.87)
- 50 free – 22.95 (19.95)
- 800/1000 free – 8:17.16 (9:17.04)
To put Kim’s speed in perspective, if SwimSwam included non-Americans in their recruit rankings, Kim’s converted 100 free time would rank him first in the high school class of 2026 by .8 seconds. He would also rank #2 in 200 free, #3 in 50 free, and top 10 in the 500.
Kim’s potential is displayed even further when comparing his long course times to top American recruits. His 49.37 puts him about 1.3 seconds ahead of Austin Carpenter, the 100 yard free leader in the class. He beats out 200 yard free class leader Andrew Maksymowski by nearly a second when comparing long course times, 1:49.62 to 1:50.51. In the 400 free, Kim’s 3:55.14 trails the class’ best distance swimmer Gabriel Manteufel by about a second (3:54.30).
If he continues to improve, Kim could vie for a spot on all five of Texas’ relay teams. His 43.03 converted PB would put him 5th on the Longhorn’s 2023-24 season rankings. Meanwhile, his 200 free and 50 free sit at 6th and 8th respectively. On an individual level, Kim’s converted best is below the 2025 NCAA B cut, while his 200 free and 50 free are both tenths off the B cut.
Kim joins a Longhorn recruiting class with three top ten American recruits: #3 Austin Carpenter, #4 Rowan Cox, and #8 Andrew Maksymowski. He currently competes for the University of Calgary’s club team in Alberta.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Junior Pan Pacs Medalist Laon Kim commits to Texas (2026)