His memory-making moment came at the USA Swimming world championship trials in June 2013. He’d broken a Phelps age-group record in the 100-meter butterfly at 14, but competition was stiffer among the older swimmers. While many of his competitors in the 15–16 age group already had ballooned up with muscles and ripped six-packs, Lynch looked pretty ordinary, his appearance giving no hint at the beast he was in the water.
The moment was caught on tape. Once his outstretched fingertips hit the wall, Lynch lifted his head up to the outside world as the wave of water caught up with him. “I could hear my friends screaming at the end of the pool, but I didn’t know for sure until I turned around,” Lynch told OZY. He slowly, perhaps timidly, turned to see the four red numbers: 52.75, another new age-group record. And a new era had begun. He fought off a smile as it triggered on both sides of his mouth, but once his competitors began congratulating him, he gave in.
Since then, Lynch has only gotten faster. He spoke with OZY from his home in Vallejo, Calif., where he grew up. He was packing before setting off for his first year at the University of California, 45 minutes away in Berkeley, where he intends to major in business.