The World Is Introduced to Swimming's Youngest Stars One thing became clear at the 2019 FINA World Swimming Championships: there's a new generation of swimmers ready to claim their rightful place in the record books. Nineteen-year-old Hungarian swimmer Kristóf Milák shattered Michael Phelps' time in the 200m butterfly, a record the American had held since 2001. Soon after, 17-year-old Regan Smith — the youngest member of the USA Swimming team — broke Missy Franklin's world record in the women's 200m backstroke.