Swimming Olympic Trials Review!
So much fast swimming!!
Wow oh wow. The 2024 US Olympic Team Trials for swimming are over and oh my gosh they were amazing. I am honestly so sad they are over, but thank goodness the Olympics are just about a month away. This meet had everything and more I could have asked for. I cannot possibly cover everything that happened or stood out to me, but I will certainly follow up on what I wrote in my preview post as well as a few other standouts to me. The qualifiers in each event are listed at the bottom of this post, but I want to mainly focus on the stories that made this Trials so incredible. So without further ado, let’s dive in ;)
Following up on my preview…
We did indeed have two men qualify for the 400 freestyle with no extra swims needed!
Unlike last year which required a (very exciting) time trial to get two men under the Olympic Qualifying Standard for the 400 free, this year we had five men under the qualifying time in finals of the race. Aaron Shackell, only 19 years old (!), took the win to make his first Olympic team, followed closely by Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Kieran Smith.
Kate Douglass swam three out of her five events (and won them all)
While Douglass was entered in five events and was the top seed in four of them, she did end up scratching the 100 breast (though her 100 split in her 200 breaststroke would’ve placed fifth in the 100 breaststroke…) and the 50 free. However, scratching those two events seems to have worked out pretty well for her because she qualified in the 200 breast (winner!), 100 freestyle (winner!), and 200 IM (winner!).
Regan Smith did indeed continue her backstroke dominance
It’s almost hard to remember the last Olympic Trials when Regan Smith was locked out of the 200 backstroke by placing third. She left absolutely no doubt this year. She won both the 100 and 200 backstrokes, re-claiming her World Record in the 200 back along the way. She also won the 200 butterfly (and placed third in the 100 fly though that is not enough to qualify in that event), so she will have a busy lineup at the Olympics and a first chance for a 200 backstroke Olympic gold medal.
Carson Foster and Gretchen Walsh made their first Olympic teams
No more doubts. Carson Foster swam his best when it counted this year, winning both the 200 and 400 IM and qualifying for his first Olympic team. Joining him is Gretchen Walsh who silenced any critics who questioned her long course abilities. She first set a World Record in the semifinals of the 100 butterfly (an event she went on to win), and then she added both the 50 and 100 freestyle to her Olympics lineup.
Joining Carson and Gretchen on their first Olympic teams are a plethora of rookies. Aaron Shackell (400 freestyle), Alex Shackell (200 butterfly, 4x200 freestyle relay), Erin Gemmell (4x200 freestyle relay), David Johnston (1500 freestyle), Shaine Casas (200 IM), Luca Urlando (200 butterfly), Emma Weber (100 breaststroke), Katharine Berkoff (100 backstroke), Chris Guiliano (50, 100, 200 freestyle), Keaton Jones (200 backstroke), Jack Alexy (100 freestyle), Anna Peplowski (4x200 freestyle relay), Matt Fallon (200 breaststroke), Thomas Heilman (200 butterfly, 100 butterfly), Luke Hobson (200 freestyle), Matt King (4x100 freestyle relay), Josh Matheny (200 breaststroke), Charlie Swanson (100 breaststroke), Luke Whitlock (800 freestyle), and Claire Weinstein (200 freestyle) all qualified for their very first Olympics. Okay wow after typing that out, there are so many rookies on this team! Out of the 20 women and 26 men that are on the team, seven of the women and 15 (!!) of the men are rookies. Wow!
Old and young qualifiers proved age is just a number
Our oldest qualifier - Gabrielle Rose - won the hearts of all 285,000 fans inside of Lucas Oil Stadium throughout the whole meet as she went a personal best in the 100 breaststroke (and qualified for semifinals!) at the age of 46. She ended up placing 10th in that event, and she also swam the 200 breaststroke where she again went a best time and made semi-finals before ultimately placing 16th. Super impressive!
Audrey Derivaux was not the youngest qualifier, but at 14, she is still one of the youngest! She had a super impressive showing – she made it into the finals of the 400 IM, swimming best times along the way, and moving into the top 7 all-time rankings for US Girls 13-14 in that event. She also made it into the semifinals of the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke, along with strong showings in the 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, and 200 IM. What a huge meet for the teenager! Keep an eye on her at the next Trials…
Swimmers with busy lineups opted for fewer events
As I mentioned in my preview, some swimmers had suuuuper busy lineups. Bella Sims was entered in the most events, with entries in 11 out of a possible 14 races. She ended up swimming five of those 11 events, and admittedly did not have her best meet as she did not end up making finals in any of her races – a surprise to many who expected her to make her second Olympic team. She will be back better.
Carson Foster also had a lot of entries (seven), but ended up only swimming the 200 and 400 IM. The 400 IM was up first and he qualified for the Olympics in that. Afterwards, he did not show up for the remainder of his races until the 200 IM. Some of those no-shows were not too surprising but his no-show in the 200 fly was pretty shocking given he was the second seed in the event. Some swim fans were pretty upset by his lack of a scratch. Quick note: scratching or declaring a false start (DFS) in an event is when a swimmer lets meet officials know prior to the event taking place that they will not be swimming that race. This is a contrast to no-showing or Did Not Show (DNS) where a swimmer simply does not show up for their race. Scratching allows meet officials to re-seed the event so there are no empty lanes in heats. It is considered a common courtesy, but many swimmers did not DFS, rather they just DNS, which irked many.
Two sets of siblings make the Olympic team
Alex Walsh and Gretchen Walsh, and Alex Shackell and Aaron Shackell have all qualified for the 2024 Olympics, meaning we have two sets of siblings on this team! Alex and Gretchen were more expected, given Alex is the reigning silver medalist in the 200 IM and Gretchen was seeded so highly in multiple events. The Shackells were a bit more of a fun surprise! 19-year-old Aaron won the 400 free and 17-year-old Alex placed second in the 200 butterfly (individual qualification) and sixth in the 200 freestyle (earning a relay spot), so this young sibling duo will get to swim together in Paris!
Simone Manuel, Caeleb Dressel, and Luca Urlando rebound from setbacks to make Olympic team
These three could each have their own post written about them. But to keep it concise, all three of these swimmers had rocky paths to this Trials meet. Simone Manuel is a five-time Olympic medalist. However, she has been very open with her struggles before and after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, specifically around her diagnosis of overtraining syndrome. She had to take an extended period of time away from all exercise, let alone swimming. Any swimmer knows how hard it is on your stroke to take any time away from the pool. Just training hard again is a huge accomplishment for Simone. But then she started swimming again, and competing, and getting back to some fast times. And then it was Trials. And all of a sudden, there she was again in the sprint freestyle events right at the front of the pack. She first qualified in the 100 freestyle, but *just* for the relay. Which is in and of itself an incredible feat, but anyone watching could tell she was disappointed. Then came the 50 free, where the top two seeds going into finals (Torri Huske and Gretchen Walsh) seemed to be separated from the field by a good bit. But you should never doubt Simone. She powered to the wall first, winning the 50 freestyle and securing herself an individual event at the Olympics. What an incredible moment for her, after all she has gone through to be back on top again. We can’t wait to see what you can do in Paris, Simone.
Caeleb Dressel actually has a similar, but different, story. The seven-time Olympic gold medalist won three individual gold medals in Tokyo in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly, plus relays. However, he also has been open about his struggles during and after Tokyo. He also took an extended break from the sport to take care of himself and his mental health. The crowd (and I) absolutely loved seeing him back out there. And yes, while it is amazing that he has now qualified for Paris in the 4x100 freestyle relay as well as two individual events (winning the 50 free and 100 butterfly), what was most memorable for me was watching him smile. After almost every race – prelims, semi finals, finals – the camera would pan to Caeleb and he would have the biggest grin on his face. Knowing some about what he went through, it was just so beautiful to see him so happy. Happy for you, Caeleb.
Next is Luca Urlando. Luca was a really promising young talent, but struggled with repeat shoulder injuries. In 2021, he placed third in the 200 butterfly at Olympic Trials – one spot out of qualifying for the team. A year later, in November 2022, he dislocated his shoulder during a race, requiring shoulder surgery. He had said he wasn’t sure after the injury if he would continue swimming, let alone ever swim butterfly again. And two years later, he put together an incredible and gutsy 200 butterfly at the 2024 Olympic Trials. A swim that earned him a spot on his first Olympic team. It is so incredible to see someone with so much talent and promise that was sidelined by injuries get to see his Olympic dreams come true. (And, someone I swim with now grew up swimming with Luca so I have insider information that is a certified good kid.) Regardless of what he does in Paris, he has overcome so much and it is awesome to see him back at the top.
Cal Continues to be BackstrokeU
For the third time in three Olympics, the 200 backstroke men qualifiers will be from UC Berkeley (Cal). Ryan Murphy, former Cal Bears swimmer, has made it to the Olympics in the 200 backstroke (and 100 backstroke) every year since 2016, winning one gold medal and one silver in the 200, and one gold and one bronze in the 100 backstroke. And in each of the past two Olympics along with this upcoming one, he has been joined by a Cal Bears teammate. In 2016 it was Jacob Pebley, in 2021 it was Bryce Mefford, and this year it is Keaton Jones. Cal can really and truly be called Backstroke University (at least for the men)!
Chris Guiliano Accomplishes the Sprint Freestyle Triple
For the first time since 1988, an American man has qualified for the Olympics in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle races. Chris Guiliano, qualifying for his first Olympics by winning the 100 freestyle and taking second in the 50 and 200 freestyle, is officially the freestyle sprint king of Trials. Impressively, he is the first man since Matt Biondi to qualify for the Olympics in the sprint freestyle triple. This is becoming more uncommon and harder to do with sprinters either primarily focusing on the 50 or becoming sprint specialists in other strokes, like the 100 butterfly. So kudos to our new sprint freestyle king! Can’t wait to see what Chris does in Paris.
Wow. What a meet. It was so thrilling to watch and what a cool experience to see swimming on such a huge stage. It was also heartbreaking to see swimmers’ dreams crushed who didn’t qualify, but what an incredible accomplishment to just be at this meet. Onto Paris!
Olympic Qualifiers by Event:
Women:
50 free: Simone Manuel, Gretchen Walsh
100 free: Kate Douglass, Torri Huske, Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, Gretchen Walsh, Erika Connolly
200 free: Katie Ledecky, Claire Weinstein, Paige Madden, Erin Gemmell, Alex Shackell, Anna Peplowski (Katie Ledecky has signaled she intends to scratch the individual race at the Olympics)
400 free: Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden
800 free: Katie Ledecky, Paige Madden
1500 free: Katie Ledecky, Katie Grimes
100 butterfly: Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske
200 butterfly: Regan Smith, Alex Shackell
100 backstroke: Regan Smith, Katharine Berkoff
200 backstroke: Regan Smith, Phoebe Bacon
100 breaststroke: Lilly King, Emma Weber
200 breaststroke: Kate Douglass, Lilly King
200 IM: Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh
400 IM: Emma Weyant, Katie Grimes
Men:
50 free: Caeleb Dressel, Chris Guiliano
100 free: Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy, Caeleb Dressel, Hunter Armstrong, Ryan Held, Matt King
200 free: Luke Hobson, Chris Guiliano, Drew Kibler, Kieran Smith, Brooks Curry, Blake Pieroni
400 free: Aaron Shackell, Kieran Smith
800 free: Bobby Finke, Luke Whitlock
1500 free: Bobby Finke, David Johnston
100 butterfly: Caeleb Dressel, Thomas Heilman
200 butterfly: Thomas Heilman, Luca Urlando
100 backstroke: Ryan Murphy, Hunter Armstrong
200 backstroke: Ryan Murphy, Keaton Jones
100 breaststroke: Nic Fink, Charlie Swanson
200 breaststroke: Matt Fallon, Josh Matheny
200 IM: Carson Foster, Shaine Casas
400 IM: Carson Foster, Chase Kalisz