Shortly after an appendicitis surgery, 18-year-old Agostina Hein has made a return to competition. The surgery seems to not have slowed the Argentine phenom too much. In what is now practically a routine every time she goes off the blocks, Hein rewrote her country’s record book.
Competing at the FeNaBA (Buenos Aires Swimming Federation) Anniversary Tournament, Hein set two new short course national records in the 200 and 400 IM. The former also marked a new South American continent record.
In the 200 IM, Hein logged a 2:08.70 for a showy win in her home city. This knocked off her own previous national record of 2:10.57, swum at the São Paulo Summer Open last December. Moreover, it earned the World Junior Champion her first short course continent record. Brazilian Joanna Maranhão’s supersuit-era mark of 2:09.03 bit the dust at Hein’s hands.
Hein now owns four South American records: the LC 200 IM, 400 IM, and 800 free, and the SC 200 IM.
Hein then came back for seconds in her bread-and-butter event, the 400 IM. The star produced a time of 4:33.37, which booted the 21-year-old 4:35.56 national record off the book. The record belonged to Georgina Bardach. Hein has taken all but one of Bardach’s national records, bringing Hein’s total to 12 individual national bests between long and short course, including every IM mark. The only Bardach record that remains is the short course 200 fly.
Though impressive, Hein’s long course times suggest that she can go faster than she did this week when further removed from her surgery. Her best IM swims in the big pool are 2:10.63 and 4:32.54.
The teenager likely went under emergency appendix surgery less than two months ago. At the beginning of September, Hein posted that she would be missing out on the home South American Games due to the surgery.
Fans can expect Hein to compete at the 2026 Short Course World Championships in Beijing. Argentina’s swimming confederation announced her on their roster, alongside Macarena Ceballos, Malena Santillan, and Cecilia Dieleke.
