2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
Bonjour Mes Amis. Welcome to the final prelims session of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. It’s been a protracted week, and it’s moderately bittersweet as whereas that is the start of the top, it additionally means we’re one step nearer to naming the Olympic workforce. It’s the shortest session by the variety of occasions, as there are simply two occasions on the schedule: the Girls’s 50 free and the Males’s 1500 free, the shortest occasion on the ladies’s aspect and the longest on the boys’s aspect.
Abbey Weitzeil will look to affix an illustrious membership of successful the identical occasion at three consecutive Olympic Trials. Final night time, Ryan Murphy accomplished the triple-double as he swept the backstrokes at three consecutive trials.
Weitzeil faces a harder process than Murphy or Lilly King did within the 100 breast, as she is just not entered as the highest seed. That honor belongs to Kate Douglass, who not too long ago broke the American Report within the occasion on the 2024 Doha World Championships, the place she set a brand new benchmark of 23.91.
The quickest girl over 50 yards, Gretchen Walsh, is seeded third behind Douglass and Weitzeil, and after setting a brand new World Report within the 100 fly, can’t be underestimated.
Within the final prelims swims of the meet, that’s proper, the final morning swims, the boys will tackle the 1500. Very like within the 50 free, American record-holder Bobby Finke leads the pack. Finke, who swept the gold in Tokyo, is an enormous favourite for the win, as his entry time is greater than 19 seconds quicker than the subsequent competitor, Charlie Clark.
In case you’re a betting form of individual, Finke must be a transparent favourite, however second might be up for grabs and could possibly be one among a handful of swimmers. Clark represented the US within the occasion on the 2022, 2023, and 2024 Worlds, however this week solely made the finals of the 800 after being scratched in.
Luke Whitlock, who completed 2nd within the 800 could possibly be an element within the 1500, as he dropped 5 seconds within the 800, however because the seventh seed has loads of swimmers forward of him just like the 2023 NCAA champion within the mile, Will Gallant.
Nevertheless, it shakes out I hope you have got loved watching and following together with all our coverages as the subsequent Olympic Trials preliminary session wont be for one more 4 years.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE — Prelims
Semifinal Qualifiers:
- Torri Huske (AAC) – 24.47
- Catie Deloof (NYAC) – 24.53
- Erika Connolly (TNAQ) – 24.55
- Abbey Weitzeil (CAL) – 24.56
- Simone Manuel (SUN) – 24.58
- Olivia Smoliga (SUN) – 24.70
- Gretchen Walsh (NAC) – 24.72
- Maxine Parker (CA-Y) – 24.73
- Kristina Paegle (ISC) – 24.80
- Grace Cooper (TXLA) – 24.91
- Rylee Erisman (LAKR) – 25.01
- Annam Olasewere (CPAC) – 25.12
- Brady Kendall (MICH)/Erin Gemmell (NCAP) – 25.13
- Gabi Albiero (UOFL)/Amy Fulmer (OSU) – 25.20
The primary warmth of the morning noticed UMLY’s Alexa Fulton take the win in 25.59. The Texas rising sophomore dropped a tenth from her seed and took the highest spot. Fulton would stay in that spot till Danielle Melilli took over together with her .27 seconds of a drop from seed to submit a time of 25.28. Melilli’s time held onto the highest spot till the College of Louisville’s Lucy Mehraban posted a 25.23 in warmth 6, clipping Melilli’s time by .05.
In Warmth 7, two new swimmers posted occasions of 25.13 and 25.21. Gemmell has already made the workforce to Paris within the 4×200 free relay. By way of this level, with the three circle-seeded heats remaining, there are already 11 swims underneath what it took to make the semis in 2021.
The primary of the circle-seeded heats noticed 4 swimmers dip underneath the 25-second barrier as Erika Connolly, the winner of two swim-offs within the 100 free, posted the highest time in Warmth 8, stopping the clock in 24.55, forward of Olivia Smoliga’s 24.70, Gretchen Walsh‘s 24.72 and Grace Cooper’s 24.91.
Warmth 9, the penultimate warmth, noticed Abbey Weitzeil and Simone Manuel additionally dip underneath the 25-second barrier because the pair of Olympians stopped the clock in 24.56 and 24.58 and presently with only one warmth remaining slot into the #2 and #3 spots.
The final warmth was a quick affair as Torri Huske posted the highest time and took over the general seed in 24.47; the one swimmer underneath 24.5, Huske scratched out of the finals of tonight’s 200 IM, and together with her swim this morning being simply .16 off her private greatest has put herself into an excellent place so as to add one other occasion. Catie Deloof, who tied with Connolly within the finals of the 100 free however misplaced the swim-off for sixth, posted a brand new private greatest by .03 to maneuver into the semifinal in 2nd behind Huske in a time of 24.53.
High seed and American Report holder Kate Douglass didn’t swim the prelims of the 50 free regardless of showing on the warmth sheet.
MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE — Prelims
- World Report: Solar Yang (CHN) – 14:31.02 (2012)
- American Report: Bobby Finke – 14:31.59 (2023)
- U.S. Open Report: Bobby Finke (USA) – 14:42.81 (2023)
- World Junior Report: Franko Grgic (CRO) – 14:46.09 (2019)
- 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Bobby Finke – 14:46.06
- 2024 Olympic Qualifying Time: 15:00.99
Finals Qualifiers:
- Bobby Finke (SPA) – 14:59.04
- David Johnston (TST) – 15:02.42
- Charlie Clark (OSU) – 15:04.77
- Luke Whitlock (FAST) – 15:07.36
- William Mulgrew (SAC) – 15:14.88
- Luke Ellis (SAND) – 15:14.93
- Daniel Matheson (SUN) – 15:16.84
- Casron Hick (KYA) – 15:17.36
Warmth one was a detailed and thrilling affair as Josh Mother or father, Andrew Taylor and Lukas Vetkoetter dueled one another over the course of 1500 meters. Vetkoetter led on the 400, flipping in 4:05.30 as in comparison with Mother or father’s 4:06.70 and Taylor’s 4:06.93. On the 800, the lead had grown as Vetkoetter flipped in 8:13.00, greater than two seconds away from the pair of Florida Gators. But when there was one factor that coaching with Bobby Finke and swimming within the Florida distance program taught them each, it was again half, and Mother or father and Taylor each surged during the last couple of hundred meters. On the 1200-meter flip, the pair had caught up with Vetkoetter. The Gators would each cost into the wall, with Mother or father taking the win in 15:25.11, Taylor lower than second behind in 15:26.07, and Vetkoetter ending third in 15:30.65.
Whereas warmth one was a decent battle, warmth two was the Carson Hick affair. Hick, who dropped almost six seconds to put tenth within the 800 free, was alone for a lot of the 1500 as he completely dropped the hammer on warmth 2. Hick was 4:02.01 on the 400 and, from that time on, maintained splits from 30.5 to 31.0 till the final 50, which was 29.67. The rising sophomore at Kentucky stopped the clock in 15:17.36, dropping almost 20 seconds from his private greatest time, which he had simply set a month in the past in Could.
Warmth 3 noticed Ivan Puskovitch catch the early chief, Luke Corey, and outpace him during the last 1100. Corey was forward of Puskovitch on the 400 by lower than a tenth however began splitting 31 mids in comparison with Puskovitch’s 30-point highs to mids. Puskovitch would proceed to realize floor on Corey and submit a time of 15:23.03, 9 seconds quicker than his seed time. Corey would end third in his warmth in 15:34.18 after having been additionally handed by Matthew Chai (15:30.34).
The 4th warmth and final earlier than the circle seed heats solely reaffirmed why distance racing is entertaining. Josh Brown of Sandpipers and Lance Norris of Wolfpack completed simply .20 of a second aside, with Norris getting the warmth win in 15:17.94 and Brown having to accept 2nd in 15:18.14. For reference, Caeleb Dressel gained the 50 free by a bigger margin (.28). Brown led on the 400 (4:02.81) and elevated the result in 1.90 seconds on the 800 (8:08.51), however Norris was at all times there slowly monitoring him down and by 1200 had pulled inside a second and by 1400 was main by over .2 seconds. They each went to their legs within the closing 100, however Brown couldn’t match Norris’s closing 50 of 27.96.
The primary of two circle-seeded heats, keep in mind that occasions with out semifinals (400 meters and up) solely have two circle-seeded heats was a battle of youth versus expertise. Charlie Clark, the quantity two seed, squared off with Luke Whitlock, the runner-up within the 800 free from earlier within the meet. Whitlock was out quicker than Clark, hitting the 400 flip in 3:56.20, 1.11 forward of Clark. On the 800, nonetheless, the place had reversed, and Clark, who represented the US on this occasion on the final three World Champs, had taken over the lead, splitting 7:58.54 in comparison with Whitlock’s 7:59.03. Clark, who redshirted the primary semester of the yr at OSU, cruised into the wall in 15:04.77, coming house in a 59.90 to take excessive time. Whitlock completed with a final 100 of 1:00.36 to hit the wall in 15:07.36. Will Mulgrew of Shawmut Aquatic Membership additionally dipped underneath Hick’s time and presently sits in third, posting a time of 15:14.88.
The final warmth was the Bobby Finke affair. A double gold Tokyo Gold medalist within the distances, Finke gained the warmth in a managed and easy efficiency of 14:59.04 to overhaul the highest spot from Clark and submit the one swim underneath 15:00.00. Finke was trailed by David Johnston for a lot of the race because the pair have been inside a second of one another on the 400, 3:56.59 to three:57.55. Johnston had really closed the hole a little bit by the 800, now being .85 seconds behind (not a lot of a change, to be honest), however Finke coincidentally additionally picked up the tempo barely, dropping three sub-30 splits over the subsequent 300, whereas Johnston was above 30.4 on three of those self same 50s.
Johnston, who’s on a redshirt yr from Texas and is coaching with Mark Shubert and ‘The Swim Group’ completed in 15:02.42, simply .05 off his private better of 15:02.37 from the 2022 Summer season Nationals.
