2024 US OLYMPIC TRIALS
The wait is finally over.
SwimSwam is on site reporting live from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, which begin this morning from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Competition will begin with heats of the women’s 100m butterfly, followed by the women’s 400m freestyle, men’s 100m breaststroke and men’s 400m freestyle for a four-event opening session.
Many of the best swimmers from the trials will be competing from the jump with Torri Huske, Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith And Claire Curzan ready to take on the women’s 100 butterfly.
Katie Ledecky headlines the women’s 400m freestyle with a chance to book a ticket to her fourth Olympic team in tonight’s final, while also being the reigning world champion Nicholas Fink leads the men’s 100 breaststroke and the relatively wide open men’s 400 freestyle David Johnston And Kieran Smith arriving at the top of the series.
100 PAPILLON WOMEN – PRELIMINARIES
- World record: 55.48, Sarah Sjostrom (SWEDEN) – 2016 Olympic Games
- American record: 55.64, Torri Huske – 2022 World Championships
- US Open record: 55.66, Torri Huske (United States) – 2021 US Olympic Trials
- Junior world record: 56.20, Claire Curzan (United States) – TAC Titans Premier Invitational 2021
- 2021 US Olympic Trials Champion: Torri Huske55.66
- 2024 Olympic qualifying time: 57.92
Semi-final qualifying:
- Gretchen Walsh (NAC), 55.94
- Torri Huske (AAC), 56.26
- Regan Smith (TXLA), 56.68
- Alex Shackel (SCC), 57.07
- Kelly Pash (TXLA), 57.66
- Beata Nelson (UN-WI), 57.68
- Claire Curzan (TAC-NC), 58.17
- Abby Arens (WOLF), 58.19
- Emma Sticklen (TXLA), 58.22
- Lillie Nordmann (ALTO), 58.38
- Leah Shackley (BRY), 58.47
- Josephine Fuller (TENN), 58.56
- Annika Parkhe (PAC), 58.58
- Olivia Bray (TXLA), 58.67
- Charlotte Crush (LAK), 58.68
- Dakota Luther (TXLA), 58.73
Gretchen Walsh I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2024 Olympic Trials.
After a stellar NCAA season that was highlighted by her shattering record in the 100 fly, Walsh became the seventh woman in history to break 56 seconds in the long course pool, clocking 55.94 to become the second fastest American woman of all time. .
Walsh turned off his previous best time of 56.14 to overtake Dana Vollmer for second place in American history, and it also moved to 6th place all time.
All-Time Performers, Women’s 100m Butterfly (LCM) – Sub-56
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 55.48 – 2016 Olympic Games
- Maggie MacNeil (CAN), 55.59 – 2021 Olympics
- Zhang Yufei (CHN), 55.62 – 2020 Chinese Nationals
- Torri Huske (United States), 55.64 – 2022 World Championships
- Emma McKeon (AUS), 55.72 – 2021 Olympic Games
- Gretchen Walsh (United States), 55.94 – 2024 US Olympic Trials
- Dana Vollmer (United States), 55.98 – 2012 Olympic Games
American record holder Torri Huske followed Walsh’s swim with the second fastest time of the morning in the final heat, touching in 56.26.
Huske sits atop the world rankings this season with her blistering time of 55.68 at the Pro Swim Series stop in San Antonio.
Regan Smith dominated the first circle seed series with a time of 56.68, after setting a personal best of 56.26 earlier this year.
Smith notably had the fastest back half of the field with a scorching time of 29.57.
The 4th place in the general classification was that of Carmel Alex Shackelwho shaved 15 hundredths off her previous best of 57.22 to 57.07, retaining her place as third all-time performer among girls 17-18.
After breaking 58 seconds for the first time earlier this season, Beata Nelson had a promising first run at Trials, resetting her best time to 57.68 to qualify comfortably 6th for the semi-finals.
On the edge of the lake Charlotte’s Favorite lost almost three-tenths of her best time to secure a semi-final spot at 15th, clocking 58.68 to rank 10th all-time in the 15-16 age group.
In Heat 5, the Jersey Wahoos stand out Audrey Dérivaux kicked off her first Olympic trials with an impressive performance, scoring a lifetime best of 59.25 to move into second place all-time among girls 13-14.
The cut-off for the semi-finals ended up being significantly faster than it was in 2021: 58.73 compared to 59.05 three years ago.
WOMEN’S 400m Freestyle – PRELIMINARIES
- World record: 3:55.38, Ariane Timus (AUS) – 2023 World Championships
- American record: 3:56.46, Katie Ledecky (United States) – 2016 Olympic Games
- US Open record: 3:57.94, Katie Ledecky (United States) – 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series
- Junior world record: 3:56.08, Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2023 World Championships
- 2021 US Olympic Trials Champion: Katie Ledecky4:01.27
- 2024 Olympic qualifying time: 4:07.90
Final qualifications:
- Katie Ledecky (CGC), 3:59.99
- Paige Madden (ACNY), 4:04.83
- Jillian Cox (TXLA), 4:06.35
- Madi Mintenko (PPA), 4:07.53
- Erin Gemmell (NCAP), 4:08.42
- Aurora Choice (ALTO), 4:09.67
- Katie Grimes (SAND) / Anna Peplowski (ISC), 4:09.87
- –
Katie Ledecky asserted her dominance from the start in the women’s 400m freestyle, winning the final at a furious pace alongside Claire Weinstein before marching away to a decisive victory.
Ledecky clocked 3:59.99, his 29th time under 4:00.
The 27-year-old holds the top seed heading into tonight’s final by almost five seconds, with his fellow Olympic finalist from Tokyo. Paige Madden qualifier 2nd in 4:04.83. Madden is coming off a best time earlier this season of 4:03.02.
Longhorn Water Sports Jillian Cox shaved a quarter of a second off her best time to place 3rd in 4:06.35, while the 16-year-old Madi Mintenko broke 4:08 for the first time to move into 6th all-time among girls 15-16.
The biggest story to come out of the women’s 400 freestyle is who didn’t make the final.
Weinstein was fast with Ledecky early, but faded as time went on, pulling away more than 2:14 in the second 200 to finish 30th in 4:14.20, nearly 10 seconds off his best time .
Bella Sims was in the race of Weinstein and Ledecky but was never really in the battle at the front, hanging around and touching in 4:12.49 to place 20th.
It was also missing Lea Smith2016 Olympic bronze medalist in this event, who finished 10th in 4:10.09.
Smith revealed in April that she dealt with a torn labrum earlier this year.
Weinstein (4:04.54) and Smith (4:06.80) ranked 3rd and 4th among Americans this season heading into the meet, behind Ledecky and Madden.
One of the swimmers who took advantage of the mistakes of some big names was the Alto Swim Club. Aurora’s Choice. The 21-year-old ran a best time of 4:09.46 in May and was right on that score (4:09.67) to qualify for the final in 6th place, before a tie for 7th place between Katie Grimes And Anna Peplowski.
100 MEN’S BREWING – PRELIMINARIES
- World record: 56.88, Adam Peat (GBR) – 2019 World Championships
- American record: 58.14, Michel André – 2021 Olympic Trials
- US Open record: 58.14, Michel André (United States) – 2021 Olympic Trials
- Junior world record: 59.01, Nicolas Martinenghi (ITA) – 2017 Junior World Championships
- 2021 US Olympic Trials Champion: Michel André – 58.73
- 2024 Olympic qualifying times: 59.49
Semi-final qualifying:
- Nicholas Fink (ACNY), 59.24
- Josh Matheny (ISC), 59.34
- Charlie Swanson (NOVA), 59.44
- Jake Foster (RAYS), 59.59
- Michel André (HOUR), 59.72
- Liam Bell (CAL), 1:00.15
- Brian Benzing (TUS), 1:00.16
- Luke Rodarte (CAL) / Tommy Cope (CW), 1:00.23
- –
- Noah Nichols (CA-Y), 1:00.24
- Matt Fallon (UPN), 1:00.35
- Cody Miller (SAND), 1:00.45
- Daniel Roy (TDPS), 1:00.57
- AJ Cover (VT), 1:00.61
- Will Licon (TXLA), 1:00.78
- Danny Kovac (TRI) / Ben Cono (TOC), 1:00.80
Reigning world champion Nicholas Fink led a group of five men under 1 min in the 100m breaststroke heats, with a time of 59.24 in the 11th and final heat ahead Jake Foster (59.59).
Fink and Foster were the two U.S. representatives in this event at the 2024 World Championships, running times of 58.57 and 59.48, respectively, in Doha, which ranked them 1-2 among Americans this season heading into the competition. .
The penultimate heat saw Michel André take things quickly to take the lead before being overtaken by Josh Matheny (59.34) and Charlie Swanson (59.44) on the final stretch, with Andrew completing the top five in 59.72.
The swim for Swanson marked a new lifetime best, breaking her previous mark of 59.89 set last summer.
The monstrous best times to qualify 6th and 7th were Liam Bell And Brian Benzingboth of whom posted top times in the 1:01.1 range and were essentially a full second off, with Bell in 1:00.15 and Benzing in 1:00.16.
Seed number 3 arrives, Noah Nicholsand 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Cody Miller, were part of the group of swimmers who qualified for the semi-finals at 1:00 a.m. Nichols and Miller both ran season bests of 1:00.2 and times of 1:00.24 and 1:00.45, respectively.
Tied for 16th place, Danny Kovac And Ben Cone in 1:00.80, which means we’ll likely see a playoff for the last spot in the semifinals.
Kovac’s swim was a new lifetime best, his first time under 1:01, while Cono’s personal best of 1:00.18 stems from the 2021 Olympic Trials.
Men’s 400m Freestyle – Preliminaries
- World record: 3:40.07, Paul Biedermann (GER) – 2009 World Championships
- American record: 3:42.78, Larsen Jensen – 2008 Olympics
- US Open Record: 3:43.53, Larsen Jensen (USA) – 2008 Olympic Trials
- Junior world record: 3:44.31, Peter Mitsin (BUL) – 2023 European Junior Championships
- 2020 US Olympic Trials Champion: Kieran Smith — 3:44.86
- 2024 Olympic qualifying time: 3:46.78
Semi-final qualifying: