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≡ U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS:
SWIMMING ≡
Night seven of the U.S. Olympic Trials in swimming in Indianapolis, led off by the men’s 50 m Freestyle final, with 100 m Free winner Chris Guiliano, defending Olympic champ Caeleb Dressel and Worlds 100 m runner-up Jack Alexy posting the three fastest semi times.
Five men had the same reaction time of 0.62, but Dressel was up and pushing quickly, with a small lead that he expanded to the finish to win in 21.41, now no. 4 on the world list for 2024. He’s now back to his 2021 form, but he is on the way; it’s his 10th-fastest 50 Free.
Guiliano continues his sensational Trials, finishing second in 21.69, making the team in the 50-100-200 m Freestyles and multiple relays. Matt King got up for third in 21.70, ahead of Alexy (21.76) and Michael Andrew (21.81).
And the Dressel story was not done, as led the heats of the men’s 100 m Butterfly at 51.14, with Zach Harting next-best at 51.49. In the semis, about 35 minutes later, he improved again, leading all qualifiers with a semi two win at 50.49, moving up to no. 3 in the world for 2024; he won this event in Tokyo as well. Dare Rose, the 2023 Worlds 100 Fly bronzer, was second on time (51.11) and in Dressel’s semi; Harting won the first semi in 51.16, and Backstroke ace Ryan Murphy also qualified for the final as fourth-fastest at 51.43!
Women’s star Regan Smith was looking for her third Trials win after a world-record victory in the 100 m Backstroke and a win in the 200 m Fly on Thursday. In the 200 m Back, she had no trouble, breaking away from the field by the first turn, leading by 0.44 at the 100 m mark and breezing home in 2:05.16, well off her seasonal best of 2:03.99.
Second was a duel between 2022 Worlds silver winner and Tokyo Olympian Phoebe Bacon and 2024 World Champion Claire Curzan, with Curzan nursing a very small lead through 150 m, but Bacon coming on in the final 50 m to touch in 2:06.27 to 2:06.34. Kennedy Noble was fourth at 2:07.52, and do-everything Katie Grimes was sixth in 2:07.72.
Carson Foster won Worlds silvers in the men’s 200 m Medley in both 2022 and 2024, and came through on the Freestyle leg to win at the Trials in 1:55.65, just edging 2022 Worlds Backstroke medal winner Shaine Casas, in 1:55.83.
Casas was out first and had big leads through the first two legs, and was 1.12 ahead of Foster after the Breaststroke leg. But Foster had the second-fastest Freestyle in the field and flew by to win decisively, moving to no. 2 in 2024 and sweeping both Medleys at the Trials. Kieran Smith and Chase Kalisz both moved up to challenge on the Breaststroke leg, but ran out of room to chase down Casas – now no. 4 in 2024 – and finished 3-4 in 1:56.97 and 1:57.17.
In the women’s 200 m Medley heats, Alex Walsh, the 2022 World Champion and 2023 Worlds runner-up, led the women’s 200 m Medley heats in 2:11.62, with 2023 and 2024 World Champion Kate Douglass second-fastest at 2:11.80. Same in the semis, with Douglass winning semi one in 2:0853 and Walsh taking semi two in 2:08.74. Torri Huske was the no. 3 qualifier, second in semi one in 2:09.43. On to the final.
The women’s 800 m Free heats in the morning saw Katie Ledecky – of course – leading at 8:17.70, well ahead of Jillian Cox (8:31.58).
Saturday’s finals include the men’s 200 m Fly and the women’s 800 m Free (Ledecky again!), and women’s 200 m Medley.
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