Young swimmer breaks Alaska record set 35 years ago by her mother

At the state swimming championships this week at Bartlett High, the heat sheet for each event shows the names of the swimmers and what lanes they're in.

It also notes the existing state record, which is one reason 12-year-old Hannah Katchen was well aware of the time she needed to swim in the 50-meter backstroke in order to etch her name in the record book.

The other reason is that the record is a topic that comes up now and then at her Anchorage home.

Katchen on Friday broke a state age-group record set 35 years ago – by her mother.

Back in 1983, 12-year-old Sarah Rabinowitz swam the 50 backstroke in 32.62 seconds to set the state long-course record for girls in the 11-12 age group.

The record stood until Friday, when Katchen erased her mom's record with a time of 32.55.

"Oh my god, it was amazing. It was so exciting," said Rabinowitz, 47. "I was timing in another lane and I looked up at the time and said 'oh my god,' and I ran over to her lane to give her a high-five in the water."

By then Katchen already knew she had knocked her mom out of the record book and had celebrated the moment with teammate Megan McLaughlin, who was swimming in the lane next to hers.

"I looked at the clock and I was really shocked," Katchen said. "I turned to my best friend who was right next to me and I gave her a big hug."

More celebrating came later over pizza with her mom and her dad, Jon Katchen.

The 50 backstroke record was one of the oldest in Alaska's record book, according to Northern Lights Swim Club coach Cliff Murray – who happens to be a childhood friend of Rabinowitz.

Rabinowitz and Murray both grew up in Fairbanks, where the Rabinowitz family is famous for its patriarch and its excellence in sports.

Jay Rabinowitz, Sarah's dad and Hannah's grandfather, died in 2001 after a distinguished law career that included more than 30 years as a judge. The Fairbanks courthouse is named after him.

He was an accomplished athlete and so were his children – Judy, Mara, Sarah and Max – who excelled in cross-country skiing, running and swimming.

Sarah set numerous age-group swim records as a kid, including the 1983 mark in the 50 backstroke. As has been the case for more than three decades at the state championships, her name and record were printed at the top of the heat sheet for Friday's finals.

"I was thinking about the record a lot, because a lot of people were saying, 'Go get your mom's record.' I think it got me ready," Katchen said.

The record didn't seem within Katchen's reach a year ago, when she was swimming times in the 35-second range. But in last week's preliminaries, she posted a personal-best time of 33.09, raising hopes that she could dip into the 32-second range in the finals.

"She was a ways off, but on her goal list was 'break state record,' so she was really determined," Rabinowitz said.

Katchen said she had a few records in mind "but the main one was my mom's."

"That's the one she wanted," Rabinowitz said. "I think it's because in our family we kind of talked about it and joked about it, so she got it in her head."

Rabinowitz still owns two state age-group records, and one of them is safely out of her daughter's grasp — the 200 individual medley record for girls 10 and under.

The other is the 200 backstroke record for girls ages 13-14. Katchen, who will be a seventh-grader at Goldenview Middle School in the fall, advances to that age group next season.

"You never know," Rabinowitz said. "She could do it."