By 
He may have turned 17 on Thursday but to be honest, in swimming terms, Kris Mihaylov has been turning heads for some time.
His latest feat was setting a new 800m freestyle record of 7min 43.56sec at the national short-course championships in Durban in October — and one has to turn back the clocks almost to last century to when it was set.
The old mark, one of SA swimming’s longest-standing records, was set by 2004 Olympic gold medallist Ryk Neethling in Arizona 24 years ago.
And in a classy gesture, it was Neethling who was one of the first to congratulate the new kid on the block, who also won titles in the 200 and 1,500m events.
Says Mihaylov, whose Bulgarian dad Stefan was an elite breaststroker himself: “Ryk asked me to send him any questions I had going forward and that’s pretty cool… he’s an inspiration to me, I know my dad was very excited when SA won the Athens Olympics relay gold… he’s experienced so I can learn a lot.”
In Neethling’s voice note to young Kris, he says: “Congratulations, this is the ‘old’ guy whose record you broke… it’s so cool to see a young guy come through the ranks in the tough events.
“You’ve got a bright future, I think I was 15 when I went to my first Commonwealth Games with Peter [Williams]… keep working hard and, again, well done.”
As luck would have it, Williams, an unofficial world 50m freestyle record holder himself when SA was still under sporting sanctions, now coaches Mihaylov!
“I started swimming competitively at about nine,” says Kris. “My first coach was Janet Price and then her son Dean, and they created such a solid and aerobic base for me. It’s always great to have an endurance base.”
Kris then moved over to Theo Verster for a while, who helped his butterfly in particular, then to Boksburg’s Wade Marshal. But then the latter, who has put so much good work into where the youngster finds himself now, moved to Makhanda and that’s where Williams stepped in just a few months before the 2024 SA short-course championships.
Mihaylov is a water baby through and through. “I just love feeling weightless and being at one with the water and the way the water streams past your body, especially when you’re swimming fast.”
But many people don’t realise the effort that goes into achieving what he’s already done as a teen.
Now being homeschooled for Grades 11 and 12, it’s all about a healthy balance.
“It’s pretty intense. I wake up at 5am and get home around 8.30. Then I’ve got school till about 3pm and if I have any spare time I’ll sleep or spend some time in the oxygen chamber for recovery and then more swimming. Sometimes I only get home just before 9pm.
“My week’s mileage is around 50,000m, although last week was 60,000m with world short-course championships coming up pretty soon. I’d say I spend between 23-26 hours in the water or doing dryland work. Most Friday afternoons, I have an hour of swimming, then an hour on the bike, spinning and then back in the pool for another hour.”
He’s already travelled to four countries — Trinidad & Tobago, Israel, Angola and Russia — for competitions. It was in Angola that he won five medals at the continental championships, three of them gold.
During his swimming career he’s also set around 20 national age-group records along the way.
“Short-course champs were the highlight of my year so far and beating Ryk’s record puts me on the national list of record holders with the likes of Chad le Clos, Roland Schoeman and Ryk… I must say, it’s a really good feeling.”
His year should have been winding down now but after short-course champs, things have suddenly changed.
“The initial goal was just to qualify, now it would seem that I’m ranked around ninth in the 800m free so the goal has changed to try to make the final and maybe break the SA record again.”
Further down the line, 2025’s Junior World Champs in Singapore beckon. “Coach believes I can actually medal there and show the world that SA still has the potential in creating future swimming champs.”
But like any swimmer the Olympics, in his case Los Angeles 2028, is the dream. Encouraging is the fact that unlike so many sports persona, for him just getting there is not the end goal.
“There have been so many Olympians over the years. My belief is that making the Games is the bare minimum — I want to do something special, like even going for a world record.”
Endurance swimmers are traditionally not as muscle-bound as the sprinters and weighing in at 73kg and standing 1.90m barefoot on the pool deck, Mihaylov certainly fits that mould.
“I need lots of energy so eat everything, but really love any food that will help with nutrition — stuff like peanut butter, beetroot, salmon and so on.”
With his active academic and sports schedule, one wouldn’t think he’d have much time on his hands.
“But we’re still a pretty active family — my mom [Vessela] was also a pretty good college-level runner — so when we have time we’ll be out somewhere playing tennis, going go-karting, rock-climbing. I also have a seven-year-old brother [Mason] who is full of energy, so we have to get him tired somehow,” he laughs.
Mrs Mihaylov certainly confirms that swimming pretty much runs through the family’s veins.
“Our lives revolve around swimming and the journey. Lately, Kris has kept us very busy with prepping for exams and for worlds. We also drive him from Bedfordview to Randburg every afternoon for training.
“His little brother grew up around the swimming pool, he’s also really into swimming now. Kris is his inspiration.”
Turning 17, turning heads, Kris Mihaylov has a great head-start to his career. But most importantly, and mainly due to a solid family unit and a succession of great coaches, he has a great head on his young shoulders.
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