Leigh Jacobson

Editor-in-Chief

On Thursday, March 22, Elon Zlotnik ’12 succeeded in breaking the Milken 100 butterfly record at Viewpoint School. The previous Milken record was a time of 55.13 seconds, and Zlotnik broke it with a time of 53.41. This automatically qualifies him as second for CIF D-IV. In addition, he also broke the pool record and the Viewpoint School record (whose team is back to back CIF champions).

“It feels like a great accomplishment, especially to be so highly ranked in CIF,” Zlotnik said. “It is not very often that a Milken swimmer ends up being able to win a medal at CIF, and it is amazing to think that I have only been swimming it for four meets. I had previously been afraid to swim the 100 fly, but now I love the stroke.”

Zlotnik prepared extensively for the meet by shaving his body the night before, tapering (resting) during the week leading up to the meet and by buying a special competition suit that was tighter than usual and made out of certain special materials. He attributes his success to this preparation.

Zlotnik also appreciates the support he received from his teammates.

“Having my team root for me at both ends of my lane was an incredible feeling,” he said.

The record-breaking is the biggest swim accomplishment on Zlotnik’s list thus far. Zlotnik has been swimming for three years, but this was the fourth time he had ever swam the 100 butterfly (the first being three weeks ago). He is a two-year team captain and a previous record holder of the 400 freestyle relay record.

“It was important for me to break this record to prove to myself that I could do it,” he said. “I was completely surprised when I saw that I broke the record by more than a second and a half. It is a great feeling to leave a legacy to continue to promote competitive swimming, especially in this event.”