DUEL IN THE POOL RETURNS MATT SATES LEAVES GEORGIA SHAINE CASAS SURGING TOWARD WORLD TRIALS
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CONTENTS 008 USA VS. AUSTRALIA DUEL IN THE POOL RETURNS TO SYDNEY POOL OF DREAMS AND ICONIC BONDI BEACH by Ian Hanson Sydney’s “Pool Of Dreams” and one of the world’s iconic surfing beaches, Bondi, will see the return of the fourth Duel In The Pool between swimming’s superpowers, the USA and Australia, in August. 010 USA SWIMMING ANNOUNCES MULTI-YEAR PARTNERSHIP WITH DIVERSITY IN AQUATICS by Matthew De George USA Swimming is entering a muti-year partnership with Diversity in Aquatics. The partnership is a four-year grant commitment aimed at developing and funding initiatives of justice, access, equity and inclusion in aquatics. 012 ASSESSING THE U.S. MEN’S STATUS IN THE SIX NON-MEDAL EVENTS FROM TOKYO OLYMPICS by David Rieder At the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. men captured 10 individual medals in swimming along with gold medals in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays. With the World Championship Trials coming up next week in Greensboro, N.C., how do the Americans stack up in the Tokyo events in which they didn’t medal? 016 SHAINE CASAS SURGING TOWARD CRUCIAL REBOUND TRIALS IN GREENSBORO by David Rieder For two years, Shaine Casas could do no wrong in the pool. He broke onto the national scene during the summer of 2019 when he captured national titles in both backstroke events, and he continued his surge through his sophomore and junior seasons of college swimming at Texas A&M. But at the cruel and unforgiving meet that is Olympic Trials, Casas just missed. He placed third in the 100 backstroke, and he fell to sixth in the 200 back. 018 U.S. OPEN TO RETURN TO GREENSBORO IN DECEMBER 2022; WINTER JUNIORS IN GREENSBORO AND AUSTIN by David Rieder
SWIMMING WORLD BIWEEKLY APRIL 2022 | ISSUE 08 020 HOW WILL THE MEN’S 400 IM LOOK THIS SUMMER? SOMETHING MUCH FASTER THAN TOKYO IS SHAPING UP by John Lohn As we await the start of the USA Swimming International Team Trials and look ahead to June’s World Championships, expect an uptick in speed in the men’s 400-meter individual medley. Why? Already this season, despite a small sample size, there have been several impressive performances in an event known as the decathlon of the sport. 022 MATT SATES LEAVING UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, RETURNING TO TRAIN IN SOUTH AFRICA by David Rieder During his freshman season at the University of Georgia, Matt Sates posted a series of incredible performances, but that will be all for his time as a collegiate athlete. The NCAA champion in the 500-yard freestyle will be leaving Georgia and returning to his hometown of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, where he will resume training under his longtime coach, Wayne Riddin. 024 AHEAD OF U.S. TRIALS, THE TOP-15 FEMALE SWIMMERS IN THE COUNTRY by David Rieder With the U.S. Trials for this summer’s World Championships coming up in less than two weeks, it is time to assess the best American female swimmers. We will rank the top-15 American female swimmers based on their abilities in the long course pool and their chances to win medals at the World Championships. 029 2022 SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY 033 AHEAD OF U.S. TRIALS, THE TOP-15 MALE SWIMMERS IN THE COUNTRY by David Rieder With the U.S. Trials for this summer’s World Championships coming up in less than two weeks, it is time to assess the best American female swimmers. We will rank the top-15 American male swimmers based on their abilities in the long course pool and their chances to win medals at the World Championships.
019 USA SWIMMING ANNOUNCES QUALIFYING PROCEDURES FOR UPCOMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS by Dan D'Addona
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USA vs. Australia Duel In The Pool Returns to Sydney Pool of Dreams and Iconic Bondi Beach BY IAN HANSON
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ydney’s “Pool Of Dreams” and one of the world’s iconic surfing beaches, Bondi, will see the return of the fourth Duel In The Pool between swimming’s superpowers, the USA and Australia, in August. Australian powerbrokers, fittingly led by U.S. legend Tracy Caulkins – now president of Swimming Australia – unveiled details of the fourth Duel In The Pool between swimming’s heavyweights at the Bondi Icebergs pool in Sydney today, with Bondi Beach to host the inaugural open water component. The 2022 Duel in the Pool will run from August 19-21 at the city’s “Pool Of Dreams,” the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre at Homebush. It will serve as the opening to a festival of swimming in Sydney in August. Previous Duels had been staged in Indianapolis in 2003, Irvine, California in 2005 and Sydney in 2007 – all won by the US. Following the Duel in the Pool, Swimming Australia will host the Sydney Sprints, an event which will also incorporate the Australian Short Course Championships and be open to a number of competing nations from around the world, marking the first major international swim meet to be hosted in Australia since the COVID-19 Pandemic. The week will then conclude with the annual Swimming Australia Awards. 8
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The return of one of swimming’s most exciting meets could well see the likes of U.S. superstars Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel against Australia’s Olympic champions Ariarne Titmus and Kyle Chalmers. The timing is certainly right with Australia’s seven gold medal haul in Tokyo and the rise of Chalmers, Titmus, Emma McKeon, Kaylee McKeown and Zac Stubblety-Cook – and the emergence of Australia’s relay teams at the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Olympics. The duels between Ledecky and Titmus over 200, 400 and 800 meters were the major drawcards of the Tokyo Games, alongside Dressel and Chalmers in their dramatic 100 freestyle battle royal. Chalmers, Titmus and McKeon are unavailable for this year’s World Championships in Budapest with only Titmus joining McKeown and Stubblety-Cook at the Australia Trials in Adelaide next month. Chalmers and McKeon will, however, race at the Commonwealth Games. Swimming Australia, in conjunction with USA Swimming, announced details of a new format today that will see each country select a team of 30 Olympic, Paralympic and National Team athletes to contest pool events at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (SOPAC), and an Open Water component at Bondi.
Delivered with the support of Destination NSW, the reimagined Duel in the Pool will leverage the mixture of innovative concepts and iconic Sydney locations to engage a broader, non-traditional swimming audience, contributing to the growing visitor economy.
[ Photo by Delly Carr ]
The event will showcase innovation both in and out of the pool, with new race and relay formats, an innovative broadcast overlay with insight into the technology that powers the sport, and fan engagement activations incorporating lighting and AR (Augmented Reality) to bring the entertainment to life.
>> Ariane Titmus & Katie Ledecky
Swimming Australia CEO, Eugénie Buckley, believes the event will also draw international attention. “Whether it’s the 4x100m freestyle relay in Sydney, or the women’s 400m freestyle from Tokyo, both our past and present are dominated by contests between our two great swimming nations that have defined their respective generations,” Buckley said. “Reigniting the Duel in the Pool will enable us to showcase the best athletes in the world through a format that will bring fans closer to the action and engage the viewing audience like never before, all while adding to the great legacy between our two countries in the pool. “We are fortunate to work with our partners at Destination NSW to host this innovative event in the great city of Sydney and we look forward to welcoming USA Swimming for a meet unlike any other.” Minister for Tourism and Sport Stuart Ayres said this event highlighted why Sydney was in the fast lane to becoming the sporting events capital of the Asia Pacific.
class events like Duel in the Pool to achieve our goal making Sydney and NSW the events capital and premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific.” Established in 2003, the original Duel in the Pool capitalized on the momentum of the Sydney Olympics to pit swimming’s greatest rivals against each other in a made for TV event. The new format will blend the traditional points system with racing, fan engagement, broadcast and pool deck concepts previously unprecedented in swimming. USA Swimming President and CEO, Tim Hinchey III, echoed the excitement, stating: “The world’s best thrive when competing against one another, and our teams have established an exciting history of record-setting competition and thrilling rivalries, which will no doubt be showcased in Sydney. We’re proud to partner with Swimming Australia to provide our athletes with another world-class competitive meet and an incredibly unique and exciting event for the fans.” ◄
“Sydney is renowned for hosting the best international sporting events that capture the world’s attention, so I am delighted we are bringing Duel in the Pool back to the Harbour City for the first time since 2007,” Mr Ayres said. “Australia and USA are the two titans of world swimming with a great historic rivalry, so this is going to be an absolutely enthralling battle for supremacy in the pool watched by millions of people on both sides of the Pacific. “The NSW Government is committed to delivering worldBIWEEKLY
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USA Swimming Announces Multi-Year Partnership with Diversity in Aquatics BY MATTHEW DE GEORGE
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SA Swimming is entering a muti-year partnership with Diversity in Aquatics.
The partnership is a four-year grant commitment aimed at developing and funding initiatives of justice, access, equity and inclusion in aquatics. Resources from the partnership will include USA Swimming Community Impact grants program, launched in 2021, as well as through aid to community swim teams. DIA has existed for 10 years. It’s a volunteer-led coalition working to promote water safety, drowning prevention and learn-to-swim access. A grassroots organization, it seeks “to address the impacts of race, socioeconomic circumstances, and cultural stereotyping on the global community,” via education and access to programs. “Diversity in Aquatics and USA Swimming share a common goal of creating more opportunities in the sport and increasing access to swimming in underrepresented communities,” Joel Shinofield, Managing Director for Sport Development at USA Swimming, said in a press release. 10
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“Our partnership will help expand the reach and impact of both organizations to grow the sport. The members of DIA are coaches, educators and leaders in our sport and throughout all of aquatics. We could not be more excited to continue to work with Diversity in Aquatics leadership and its members.” “We understand the challenges and barriers that have existed in aquatics,” Diversity in Aquatics Executive Director Dr. Miriam Lynch said. “As many of us at Diversity in Aquatics grew up in USA Swimming, we are committed to working alongside this organization to pursue excellence and seek improvement in the sport of swimming. With this partnership, Diversity in Aquatics and its team of diverse researchers, coaches, advocates, and athletes looks forward to doing the work with USA Swimming to promote a more diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive community culture in swimming. This partnership is the start of an intentional commitment by the organization to support inclusive growth and provide a safe and positive environment for current and future generations.” ◄
>> Luca Urlando
Assessing the U.S. Men’s Status in the Six Non-Medal Events from Tokyo Olympics BY DAVID RIEDER | PHOTOS BY PETER H. BICK
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t the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. men captured 10 individual medals in swimming along with gold medals in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays. The top performer was Caeleb Dressel, who won three individual gold medals in the 50 and 100 freestyle as well as the 100 butterfly. Bobby Finke was the surprise gold medalist in both the 800 and 1500 free, and the only other swimmer to win multiple individual medals was Ryan Murphy, who was on the podium in both backstroke races. The 10 individual medals by the U.S. men came in nine events (including a 1-2 finish in the 400 IM), and that left five individual events where the Americans finished off the podium. In addition, the U.S. men’s 800 free relay became the first-ever American relay to miss an Olympic podium altogether (not counting the first women’s relay ever contested at the Olympics in 1912, when the Americans did not enter a team). With the World Championship Trials coming up next week in Greensboro, N.C., how do the Americans stack up in those six non-podium events? Did an American swimmer just miss the podium in Tokyo to set up the nation well for the new (and shortened) quadrennium? Or is this an event where the U.S. men have shown significant weakness over the past few years? 200 Butterfly Going back to 2004, the number of U.S. men who have won an Olympic or World Championship medal in the 200 fly is one — and of course, that would be Michael Phelps.
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Phelps retired after he won his third Olympic gold medal in the event in dramatic fashion in 2016, and since then, no Americans have put together the sort of swim needed to really contend internationally. The top American in recent years has been Zach Harting, who claimed bronze in the 200 fly at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships and then finished sixth at the 2019 World Championships. Harting was the 200 fly winner at Olympic Trials last year, but he finished ninth in Tokyo, four hundredths outside of the final. The other U.S. Olympian in the event was Gunnar Bentz, who took seventh in the Olympic final but retired from swimming after that race. The best hope for the Americans right now is 20-year-old Luca Urlando, who swam a 1:53.84 in the 200 fly in 2019. Urlando is the 13th-fastest performer in history, and that time would have been good enough to earn a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, but he has not approached that mark since. He was impressive at the NCAA Championships last month, where he placed second in both butterfly events (in short course yards) and third in the 200 IM. He also set an American record in the 100-yard backstroke. Urlando could take the next step in his career at Trials. Aside from Urlando and Harting, the top contenders in Greensboro should be Trenton Julian, who placed fourth at Olympic Trials and had the fastest time by an American last year (1:54.71), and Chase Kalisz, the Tokyo gold medalist in the 400 IM. But it’s tough to see anyone outside of Urlando putting themselves in medal-contending position
2:07-mid performance or better, but making the jump to podium status could be tricky if it requires a 2:07-low or 2:06-high. Fink’s Olympic teammate in this event, Andrew Wilson, has not competed since Tokyo, and the favorite for the No. 2 spot this year is Will Licon, a 27-year-old who was the Pan American Games champion in this event and the bronze medalist at the Short Course World Championships, but Licon has never qualified for the top-level U.S. team. He has missed two straight Olympic teams by razor-thin margins, 0.14 in 2016 and 0.18 in 2021. The Americans are undoubtedly hoping some highceiling talent to break through, but one of the best U.S. hopes in this event, teenager Matt Fallon, is not expected to compete next week in Greensboro. Fallon was the top qualifier in the 200 breast at Olympic Trials before falling off the pace in the final. It would be no surprise if this event looks much different in 2023 than in 2022. >> Kieran Smith for this summer’s World Championships. 200 Freestyle This event loses some veterans from previous years as 2017 World Championships silver medalist Townley Haas and 2018 national champion Andrew Seliskar both announced their retirement. But in recent years, Kieran Smith has been the top swimmer in the country in this event. Smith finished sixth in the Olympic final in this event last year after entering as the No. 2 qualifier, and he led off the American men’s 800 free relay in an impressive 1:44.74. That time is right in the mix for contending for international medals. But Smith was well off his best form at the NCAA Championships last month as he fell to fourth place in the 200 free. Drew Kibler, a relay swimmer for the U.S. at the Tokyo Games, was the winner at the NCAA Championships, and he’s the only other swimmer competing in Greensboro who has ever been under 1:46 — but he remains a long distance away from the 1:44-range. Barring any surprise, the only legitimate medal contender the Americans have here is Smith, provided he can return to his best form by the World Championships in Budapest in June. 200 Breaststroke The only American to swim in the 200 breast final in Tokyo was 28-year-old Nic Fink, who finished fifth, eight tenths off the podium. Fink has admitted that his future in the sport beyond this year is uncertain, but he is coming off a brilliant fall in which he captured the short course world title in this event. Fink probably is capable of a
100 Breaststroke The U.S. men were shut out of breaststroke medals at the Tokyo Olympics, but in the 100-meter distance, there is an American man with strong potential to contend internationally. That is Michael Andrew, who ranks third all-time in the event with his American record of 58.14
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>> Michael Andrew from the semifinals at Olympic Trials. Andrew placed fourth in this event in Tokyo, finishing seven tenths off his best time. For Andrew, his key is simply performing his best in the biggest moments, which did not happen in two of his three individual Olympic finals. In addition to his 200 breaststroke short course world title, Nic Fink was the bronze medalist in the 100 breast and gold medalist in the 50 breast at Short Course Worlds, but neither he nor any other American has shown close to the speed necessary to be in the medal hunt in a full-strength field. 200 IM At the 2016 Olympics, Michael Phelps won his fourth straight gold medal in the 200 IM, becoming the only swimmer (male or female) to ever accomplish such a feat. In between Phelps’ Olympic wins, Ryan Lochte became only the second man in history to win four straight world titles in the event. With the Phelps-Lochte era over by the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. men finished off the podium completely. Michael Andrew entered the Olympics with the fastest time in the world (1:55.26), but his weakness was the closing freestyle leg. At Olympic Trials, Andrew had been more than a second under world-record pace at the 150-meter mark, only to fade badly down the stretch. In the Olympic final, Andrew was in first place with 50 meters to go, but 14
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he fell all the way to fifth place. His freestyle split was more than a second-and-a-half slower than anyone else in the field. Andrew has the talent in this event — his top time in 2021 would have been good enough for silver in Tokyo — but not the consistency in big moments. However, Andrew may not even swim the 200 IM at this year’s Trials since the event will be just before the 50 freestyle on the final night of competition. We’ll see if Andrew goes for the double. If not, the favorites to qualify for the U.S. team will be 2017 world champion Chase Kalisz and the versatile Shaine Casas, who swam an impressive 1:56.70 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio earlier this month, a time that would have been quick enough to make the Olympic team. It would be no surprise to see Casas or Kalisz emerge as a World Championships medal contender next week. 800 Freestyle Relay After capturing four straight gold medals in this event, the Americans entered the Olympic final of the 800 free relay at risk for missing the medal podium altogether. Kieran Smith and Drew Kibler put together strong opening legs to put the Americans in a strong position, but Zach Apple struggled mightily on the third leg, and anchor Townley Haas could not get back into the top-three. The good news for the U.S. men regarding the 2022 World Championships is one of the medal-winning teams from the Tokyo final will be totally absent. No Russian athletes will be competing in Budapest as a result of their country’s invasion of Ukraine, so the Americans will have a strong shot at bronze or perhaps even silver. Smith and Kibler are expected to be the headliners for this group, and swimmers such as Carson Foster and Luca Urlando could move into contributing roles this year. Perhaps this is the year when Caeleb Dressel jumps into the mix for the 800 free relay as well. But if the Americans hope to return to gold-medal contention by the time the 2024 Olympics roll around, there is a long way to go. Great Britain has multiple swimmers capable of 1:44s from a flat start, while only one American (Smith) has been that fast in almost a decade. The search is on for 200 freestyle specialists with big potential to bolster this quartet. ◄
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[ Photo by Peter H. Bick ]
Shaine Casas Surging Toward Crucial Rebound Trials in Greensboro BY DAVID RIEDER
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or two years, Shaine Casas could do no wrong in the pool. He broke onto the national scene during the summer of 2019 when he captured national titles in both backstroke events, and he continued his surge through his sophomore and junior seasons of college swimming at Texas A&M. The 2020 NCAA Championships were cancelled because of COVID-19, but Casas was the top-performing swimmer at the 2021 national meet as he won national titles in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke and the 200 IM while leading the Aggies to an impressive 10th-place finish. The next step, it seemed, was qualifying for his first Olympic team, and Casas was a popular pick to qualify for Tokyo behind defending Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy in the backstroke events. But at the cruel and unforgiving meet that is Olympic Trials, Casas just missed. He placed third in the 100 backstroke, less than three tenths behind surprising runnerup Hunter Armstrong, and he fell to sixth in the 200 back. “I think that meet definitely slapped me in the face,” Casas said of his Olympic Trials experience. When discussing what went wrong for him in Omaha, Casas admitted that he had become overconfident, and he refused to place the blame for what he considered poor performances on anyone besides himself. “I really thought I was on top of the world,” Casas said. “At NCAAs, I didn’t really take it seriously and still performed well enough, and I was like, ‘You know what? I’m fine. I’ve got this. I’ve been swimming well.’ And I think that was my fault. Trials was my fault. As much as people might not agree and think the coach messed it up, it was my fault. I didn’t take
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it seriously enough. I wasn’t committed enough or disciplined enough. Even though I really wanted to be an Olympian, my swims reflected my discipline.” That performance shook Casas, and it left him unsure of how to proceed in his swimming career. He realized that he needed to make a change, and he decided that he was no longer interested in college swimming. He decided he would depart Texas A&M, where he had thrived under coaches Jay Holmes and Jason Calanog, and move north to train at the University of Texas under legendary coach Eddie Reese and assistant coach Wyatt Collins. Casas ended up staying in College Station through December, but when he finally did move to Austin, he admitted that it was tough to depart a place where “I was extremely comfortable, and I knew everything.” He viewed this transition as necessary for him to reach his full potential in swimming. “People have to become uncomfortable, even if It’s just for a little bit, just for the betterment of themselves,” he said. “As much as I would have liked for it to work out there, it didn’t, and that’s tough but if you want to do something, and you really want it, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be, and I’m willing to do that.” *** In the months after Olympic Trials, Casas was unsure where he would compete next, but around October, he was offered a spot representing the U.S. in the backstroke events at the Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Casas had not ramped up his training yet following Trials, but once he got the invitation, he said, “It’s go time.”
It was a chance afforded because swimmers ahead of Casas in the qualifying order, including Murphy, had declined spots at the meet. Casas was making his first appearance at an elitelevel international meet, but he immediately thrived. In his first event, the 100 back, Casas blasted out to an early lead and then held off Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov, the Olympic silver medalist in the event, to win the world title. Over the course of the competition, Casas added a silver medal in the 200 back, a race where he hoped to add a second individual gold but “I wasn’t ready for that” as Polish veteran Radoslaw Kawecki surpassed him at the end. Casas also added four relay medals. “For me, it was a little bit of redemption,” Casas said of his performance. “I feel like after missing the (Olympic) team, I just went under the radar, and people probably forgot, like, ‘Oh, like what happened to Shaine?’ I’m still here. I won. I was not satisfied with how I swam at the meet. I still feel like I can do more.” Casas was still training at Texas A&M leading up to Short Course Worlds, but after he returned to the U.S., he officially made the move to train with the Longhorns. On living in Austin, Casas said, “I am out here in the city. This is definitely not what I’m used to.” But otherwise, he has adopted well. He has enjoyed training under the Texas men’s coaches and in the small but focused pro training group that currently includes Will Licon, Maxime Rooney and Charlie Swanson.
Thursday, April 28: 100 butterfly, 50 backstroke Friday, April 29: 100 backstroke Saturday, April 30: 200 IM Originally, Casas considered skipping the 200 IM because of his busy schedule, but he later decided to give it a go, especially after he edged out a loaded field including 200-yard IM NCAA champion Leon Marchand and U.S. Olympians Chase Kalisz and Michael Andrew in San Antonio. “They have a lot more,” Casas said of Kalisz and Andrew, “but so do I, so I guess we’ll see in a couple weeks.” This time, Casas believes he is ready for the moment. He knows what to expect from the pressures of a qualification meet, and he believes he has shut out the overconfidence that derailed his training prior to last year’s Trials. After that disappointment 10 months ago, Casas has returned to his perch as one of the most exciting young swimmers in the U.S., and if all goes according to plan, he could achieve some special performances in Greensboro. “Going into these Trials, now the pressure is on because now this is my lifeline or my job, but I’m confident, and I know that I’m ready this time compared to last time,” Casas said. “I think last time I was too immature and not experienced enough to know what I’m doing and handle the pressure.” ◄
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“It took me a little bit to get the physical part,” Casas said. “It was tough. I was tired all the time, and I was finding myself napping all day. Sometimes I’d miss lunch, and have to just like eat really fast before practice. But I finally got used to it, and it’s great. My place is set up I have a nice living room. I live in a nice place. People are friendly. It’s just I think a really good adjustment for me, and I really don’t think it could be going any better than it is.” Casas has seen strong early returns from his time training in Austin. At the first TYR Pro Swim Series meet of the year, Casas defeated a strong field in the 100 freestyle that included Olympians Ryan Held, Caeleb Dressel and Zach Apple. At the most recent stop in Westmont, Casas scored four victories. His times in the 100 butterfly (51.09) and 200 IM (1:56.70) rank first in the United States in 2022, and both would have been fast enough to qualify for the Olympic team last year. His times in both backstroke events rank second in the country to Murphy. The 22-year-old will compete at the U.S. World Championship Trials later this month in Greensboro, N.C., but he will not compete in the 100 freestyle on the meet’s first day, despite the six potential relay berths available. His event lineup in Greensboro will include:
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U.S. Open to Return to Greensboro in December 2022; Winter Juniors in Greensboro and Austin BY DAVID RIEDER
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ater this month, USA Swimming will hold the biggest domestic competition of 2022 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center when this year’s World Championships team is selected, and more major meets will be held in central North Carolina at the end of the year. USA Swimming has revealed that Greensboro will play host to the U.S. Open, a long course competition in early December, as well as one of the two Winter Junior National meets held one week later. The western edition of Juniors will take place in Austin, Texas, and all three of these meets are returning to the same sites where they were held in December 2021. The 2021 edition of the U.S. Open was a sparsely-attended competition with many of the country’s top athletes either taking a hiatus from racing after the Olympics, competing in college competitions or finishing up their ISL season with the ISL final held on the same days, although the meet did mark Katie Ledecky’s first races since the Tokyo Olympics. But with this year’s meet further along in the Olympic cycle and all ISL competition cancelled for 2022, the field of participating athletes figures to be more competitive. Greensboro has become a central hub of USA Swimming’s competitions in recent years, but this month’s Trials will be the most significant event the venue has ever hosted. The site has also hosted several NCAA Championships, including the women’s meet in 2015 and 2021 and the men’s meet in 2021. Read the announcement from USA Swimming:
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USA Swimming, the National Governing Body of the sport of swimming in the United States, today announced the dates and locations for the 2022 Toyota U.S. Open, Speedo Winter Junior Championships East and Speedo Winter Junior Championships West. This year’s Toyota U.S. Open will take place November 30-December 3 in Greensboro, N.C. at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. The venue has hosted many national-level competitions, including TYR Pro Swim Series meets, NCAA Championships, the 2020 Toyota U.S. Open and more. The venue will also be the site for the Phillips 66 International Team Trials, which take place April 26-30. The long-course meter competition is expected to consist of hundreds of athletes, including members of this year’s U.S. National Team, National Junior Team, 2020 U.S. Olympic team and 2022 FINA World Championships U.S. roster. Click here for additional information on the Toyota U.S. Open. The Speedo Winter Junior National Championships will be shortly after the Toyota U.S. Open, with competition taking place December 7-10 across two sites. The Speedo Winter Junior National Championships East will take place in Greensboro, N.C. at the Greensboro Aquatic Center, while the Speedo Winter Junior National Championships West will take place in Austin, Texas, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. The meet will be the first national-level, short-course yard meet of the 2022-2023 season for many of the nation’s emerging athletes. ◄
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USA Swimming Announces Qualifying Procedures for Upcoming World Championships BY DAN D'ADDONA
U
SA Swimming has released the selection process for the upcoming 2022 FINA World Championships as well as the Junior Pan Pacific Championships and Mel Zajac International meet. The U.S. teams for these events will be selected at the International team Trials in Greensboro, N.C.
has reached an A standard at a different time). Swimmers who qualify for worlds will not swim in the Junior Pan Pacific Championships or Mel Zajac International meet. Swimmers who finish behind world qualifiers will be determined based on order of finish — and for Junior Pan Pacifics — age. ◄
Just like the Olympics, the top two finishers in each event, as well as the top four in 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle, will qualify for the worlds team if they are under the FINA “A” standard and if the roster limit is not exceeded (26 men and 26 women).
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If the roster is not exceeded, the winners of the 50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke and 50 butterfly will qualify as well as the fifth- and sixth-place finishers in the 100 and 200 freestyle events will be added to the team. The FINA “A” standard must be reached by swimmers to qualify during the designated qualifying period, so if there is a swimmer who has a FINA “B” standard and finishes first or second, they must have an A cut during the period. We saw this at the Olympic trials when Jake Mitchell took second in the 400 freestyle and did not have an A cut. He then swam a time trial at the Olympic trials and reached the A cut to qualify for the Olympic team.
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Just like that scenario, if the runner-up does not reach an A cut, the second-place finisher won’t qualify unless they also reach an A cut and the next swimmer in order of finish in the final who has received an A cut would be eligible. Another quirk in the USA Swimming qualifying is that if an event winner does not get an A cut, just a B cut, only that swimmer will be headed to worlds — even if the runner-up
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>> Duncan Scott
How Will the Men’s 400 IM Look This Summer? Something Much Faster Than Tokyo Is Shaping Up BY JOHN LOHN
A
s we await the start of the USA Swimming International Team Trials and look ahead to June’s World Championships, expect an uptick in speed in the men’s 400-meter individual medley. Why? Already this season, despite a small sample size, there have been several impressive performances in an event known as the decathlon of the sport. At last summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, American Chase Kalisz captured the gold medal in the competition’s opening event. Given the 28-year-old’s credentials, namely as the 2016 Olympic silver medalist and the 2017 world champion, his place atop the podium seemed appropriate. Yet, the time required to claim gold, a 4:09.42, was surprisingly average. In the big picture of his quest, Kalisz’s time was inconsequential, since his placement was all that mattered. Nonetheless, the time was the slowest needed to win a global crown in the event since 2005, when Hungarian Laszlo Cseh won the world title in Montreal. That summer, it is worth noting, reigning Olympic champ Michael Phelps opted to bypass the event, a decision that opened the door for Cseh. Below is a look at the winning times in the 400 individual medley since the 2000 Olympic Games and 2003 World Championships. It’s obvious that Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte took the event to a special realm during their primes, with Chase Kalisz and Kosuke Hagino also enjoying visits to
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unique territory. Olympic Games 2000: Tom Dolan (United States) – 4:11.76 2004: Michael Phelps (United States) – 4:08.26 2008: Michael Phelps (United States) – 4:03.84 2012: Ryan Lochte (United States) – 4:05.18 2016: Kosuke Hagino (Japan) – 4:06.05 2020: Chase Kalisz (United States) – 4:09.42 World Championships 2003: Michael Phelps (United States) – 4:09.09 2005: Laszlo Cseh (Hungary) – 4:09.63 2007: Michael Phelps (United States) – 4:06.22 2009: Ryan Lochte (United States) – 4:07.01 2011: Ryan Lochte (United States) – 4:07.13 2013: Daiya Seto (Japan) – 4:08.69 2015: Daiya Seto (Japan) – 4:08.50 2017: Chase Kalisz (United States) – 4:05.90 2019: Daiya Seto (Japan) – 4:08.95 The way the 400 medley has looked during the early stages of 2022, a much faster time seems to be on the horizon at the World Champs in Budapest. Recently, Great Britain’s
Duncan Scott fired off a world-leading and Commonwealth record of 4:09.18. The effort was the latest in a long line of stellar performances from Scott, the silver medalist at the Olympics in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley. Now, he is considered a world-title contender in the longer medley. In the pursuit of fast times, it should help that the men’s version of the event has been moved to the first day of competition, as opposed to its longtime place on the final day of action. The women’s event, however, will remain as part of the closing session. In Japan, Tomoru Honda (4:10.75) and Daiya Seto (4:10.87) have already been sub-4:11, and Seto likely has redemption on the mind after a rough showing at a home Olympics. In Tokyo, where he was the pre-meet favorite, Seto failed to advance to the final of the 400 IM. A three-time world champion (2013, 2015, 2019), Seto certainly has the skill to again emerge on top.
Australian Brendon Smith was the bronze medalist in the event in Tokyo and will seek World Champs qualification next month in Adelaide, and New Zealand’s Lewis Clareburt has been a lingering presence for several years. Then there’s Spaniard Hugo Gonzalez, who shredded the NCAA record in the short-course 400 IM last month but remains a wildcard on the long-course scene. What will it take to secure gold in Budapest? At the moment, the days of 4:05 and 4:06 seem like a stretch. But there is talent in the event, headlined by the surging Scott and Marchand, and something swifter than last summer should be expected. ◄
Meanwhile, France’s Leon Marchand has looked spectacular in 2022, regardless if he is racing in a shortcourse venue or in the long-course pool. After being named Swimmer of the Meet at last month’s NCAA Championships, the Arizona State freshman excelled at the TYR Pro Series stop in San Antonio. Included in his efforts was a 4:10.38 mark in the 400 IM. Marchand was sixth in the event in Tokyo. While a quartet of 4:10s (or faster) are already on the books in 2022, expect that number to grow in the coming weeks. At the United States International Team Trials, Carson Foster will look to replicate – or better – the 4:08.46 he delivered at last year’s Austin Sectionals. That time stood up as the top time in the world for 2021 and reflected Foster’s wide-ranging skill. Although Kalisz looked good in San Antonio in the 200 medley and 200 butterfly, he has given no indication the 400 IM is part of his 2022 plans. And Jay Litherland is a major taper swimmer, so the veteran and reigning Olympic silver medalist will be banking on rest being an ally at the American Trials in Greensboro. BIWEEKLY
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Matt Sates Leaving University of Georgia, Returning to Train in South Africa BY DAVID RIEDER
D
uring his freshman championship season at the University of Georgia, Matt Sates posted a series of incredible performances, but that will be all for his time as a collegiate athlete. The NCAA champion in the 500yard freestyle will be leaving Georgia and returning to his hometown of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, where he will resume training under his longtime coach, Wayne Riddin. The Sunday Times in South Africa reported the news. Additionally, Sates has signed with an agent to become a professional swimmer. NCAA athletes were not allowed to earn profits until this year, when new rules regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) rights took effect. “I love swimming and for as long as I can remember I
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dreamed of competing on the world’s biggest stage as a professional,” Sates said a statement, according to the Sunday Times. He also thanked Riddin and his Seals club. “I wouldn’t be where I am without them. I also want to thank everyone at the University of Georgia… as well as my teammates, for giving me the confidence to take this step.” Sates, 18, was a semifinalist in the 200 IM at the Tokyo Olympics, but he burst onto the international scene in the fall when he set numerous world junior records (short course meters) during the FINA World Cup circuit. Among his notable accomplishments, he beat Kyle Chalmers, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist in the 100 free, in two head-to-head duels in the 200 free. Sates came to the United States in January and immediately had success at Georgia. He was the SEC champion in the 500 free before he again won the event at the national championships. In that NCAA final, Sates was actually in fifth place at the halfway point, and he still trailed NCAA-record holder Kieran Smith by a second-and-a-half with 150 yards to go, but he blew past the field and recorded a time of 4:06.61, making him the second-fastest performer in history. Sates also placed third in the 200-yard free at NCAAs and helped Georgia to a second-place finish in the 800 free relay and eighth place overall in the team competition. ◄
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Ahead of U.S. Trials, the Top-15 Female Swimmers in the Country BY DAVID RIEDER
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ith the U.S. Trials for this summer’s World Championships coming up in less than two weeks, it is time to assess the best American female swimmers. We will rank the top-15 American female swimmers based on their abilities in the long course pool and their chances to win medals at the World Championships. The American women are coming off a very strong 15-medal performance at the Tokyo Olympics. Only three of those medals were gold, none of them in relays, but the team managed to win medals in nine out of 14 individual events and place top-five in three of the five non-medal events. Ten of the 26 swimmers who represented the U.S. in the pool were teenagers, and the shortened Olympic cycle leading up to the 2024 Paris Olympics should put members of that group in a position to thrive over the next few years. Of course, comparing swimmers across events is a very imperfect science, and we must weigh previous years’ accomplishments against the results of the NCAA Championships held last month as well as the ISL and Short Course World Championships in December, which means projecting long course results based on short course. Note that former Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender female to capture an NCAA title in swimming, was not considered for this list because Thomas has no officially recorded swims as a USA Swimming member that would qualify her for the Trials. A lot of the decisions involving swimmers’ placement on this list heading into the five-day qualifying meet came down
to tough calls, and what unfolds in Greensboro will surely prompt a rearrangement of the pecking order, but based on performances throughout her career and over the last year, No. 1 was an easy choice. 1. Katie Ledecky Simply, Katie Ledecky is one of the greatest swimmers of this generation. While her 2021 Olympics did not match the incredible heights she reached in 2016, she still won her third-straight gold medal in the 800 freestyle and captured the inaugural Olympic gold in the 1500 free. She swam the secondquickest time of her career in a race for the ages against Ariarne Titmus in the Tokyo 400 free before ending up with a silver, and Ledecky also finished fifth in the 200 free before posting the fastest split in the field on the U.S. women’s silver-medalwinning 800 free relay team. Now training in Gainesville, Fla., Ledecky has shown no signs of an off-year as she has been in her usual stellar form at various tune-up meets. Assuming she qualifies in the events expected in Greensboro, she will head to Budapest as the title-favorite in the 800 and 1500 free and a medal contender in the 200 and 400 free. In the 800 free, she will attempt to win her fifth consecutive world title, which no swimmer female or male has ever accomplished. 2. Lilly King Aside from Ledecky, the one other U.S. women’s gold medal in the pool in Tokyo came in the 100 breaststroke, but in a major upset, it was not Lilly King achieving that honor. Instead, it was then-17-year-old Lydia Jacoby who pulled off the win while King settled for bronze. But King gets the nod
>> PICTURED ABOVE: (from left) Katie Ledecky, Hali Flickinger, Regan Smith & Emma Weyant ( Photos By: Peter H. Bick ) 24
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ahead of Jacoby because of her longevity and her overall body of work in the breaststroke events. In addition to her 100-meter bronze, she took a silver medal in the 200 breast in Tokyo, becoming just the seventh woman in history to break 2:20 on her way to her first World Championships or Olympic medal in the race. King then dominated the stroke on the ISL circuit, and she currently ranks second in the world in the 100 breast (1:05.32) and third globally in the 200 breast (2:23.69). 3. Regan Smith This is where things got really tight on the list. Should we prioritize Olympic success nine months ago or recent recordbreaking results in short course yards? The nod goes to Olympic success, barely. There were two other multi-time individual Olympic medalists for the U.S. in Tokyo, and one of those swimmers was Regan Smith. Now 20, Smith took bronze in the 100 backstroke and silver in the 200 butterfly before leading off the American 400 medley relay that eventually won silver. Smith is also the world-record holder in the 200 back, although she did not qualify to swim that event in Tokyo. Her first NCAA Championships for Stanford started off a little rocky, particularly when she finished a distant third in the 100-yard back (after entering with the American record), but she earned a come-from-behind national title in the 200 back before finishing second in the 200 fly less than an hour later. Smith heads to Greensboro as a slight favorite in both backstroke events and a co-favorite in the 200 fly with the next swimmer on the list. 4. Hali Flickinger The final multi-time Olympic medalist from Tokyo was Hali Flickinger, now one of the veterans of the U.S. women’s squad at age 27. In her second Olympics, Flickinger took home bronze medals in both the 400 IM and 200 fly, finishing just behind Smith in her signature butterfly race and behind fellow American Emma Weyant in the longer medley race, which Flickinger actively avoided until relocating to train under coach Bob Bowman at Arizona State University. You know what you will get from Flickinger each time she races, and heading into Trials, she ranks second in the world for 2021 in both her best events. 5. Lydia Jacoby Now we arrive at the 100 breaststroke Olympic champion, the native of Seward, Alaska, and on her way to the University of Texas next season. Lydia Jacoby stunned the world when the beat Lilly King and Tatjana Schoenmaker for gold in her first Olympic final, and later on in the meet, she swam breaststroke on two medley relays (mixed and women’s) for the U.S. She memorably lost her goggles on the mixed relay but still posted a fine split, and she helped the U.S. women earn a silver medal. However, Jacoby has not done much since Tokyo. She swam at the Short Course World Championships, where she was eliminated in the 50 breaststroke semifinals before COVID-19
protocols took her out of the remainder of the meet. Her season-best time in the 100 breast this year is 1:06.87 (third in the country), but she improved massively throughout the season last year. She will need to recapture that magical form to be in contention again at the World Championships. 6. Kate Douglass Kate Douglass did not look like the sixth-best swimmer in the country at the NCAA Championships last month. She was the Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 IM in Tokyo, and at NCAAs, she won three individual titles, all in American-record time, while leading her Virginia Cavaliers to four relay wins and the national team title. Douglass became the fastest shortcourse-yards swimmer in history in the 50 free and 200 breast, a combination of records no swimmer had ever achieved before, while beating marks set by Abbey Weitzeil in the 50 free and by King in the 200 breast. She now ranks second alltime in the 100 fly, with only Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil ahead of her. At Trials, we will see how Douglass stacks up long course in those new events. The schedule sets up for Douglass to likely race the 100 free on day one, 200 breast and/or 50 fly on day two, 100 fly on day three and then possibly the 100 breast on day four. However, the meet’s final day does include the 50 free and 200 IM, arguably Douglass’ two best events, so she will either attempt the double or make a tough decision. 7. Alex Walsh Just like Douglass, Alex Walsh was a dominant swimmer at the NCAA Championships, the second three-event winner on the Cavaliers’ championship squad. Walsh swam the fastest time in history in the 200-yard IM by more than a half-second, and she also won NCAA titles in the 400 IM and 200 fly. Walsh was the Olympic silver medalist in the 200-meter IM in Tokyo, and she actually led for much of the race before Japan’s Yui Ohashi snuck past her at the finish. She will certainly be the 200 IM favorite at Trials as she tries to set herself up to challenge for the world title in the event later in the summer. Walsh was not in contention in any additional events at last year’s Olympic Trials, but she is skilled across basically all strokes. Her performances this college season left her ranked fourth all-time in the 200 breast and 400 IM and sixth in the 200 fly (all short course yards), and she is the reigning Pan American Games champion in the 200 backstroke. So the door is open for her to excel in a variety of races at Trials. 8. Claire Curzan Claire Curzan is another swimmer who has been on a hot streak in recent months. She was a semifinalist in the 100 fly at her first Olympics last year, but in the months since, the 17-year-old has captured six medals at the Short Course World Championships, including individual bronzes in the 50 fly and 100 fly, and she lowered the American record in the 100-yard fly (since broken by Douglass) in February. And through the Continued >>
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[ Photo by Peter H. Bick ]
>> Alex Walsh year’s two stops on the TYR Pro Swim Series, she has been phenomenal, picking up four wins at each, and she heads to Trials (just a one-hour drive west on I-40 from her home in Cary) ranked first in the U.S. for 2022 in the 100 fly, 50 free, 100 free, 100 back and 200 back. Curzan did not swim her best at the biggest competitions in 2021, so she will be aiming for deliver on all those strong swims if she wants to qualify for the U.S. team for Budapest in multiple events. 9. Torri Huske Torri Huske was the breakout star of the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 as she broke Dana Vollmer’s nine-year-old American record in 100 butterfly to qualify for her first Olympic team. In Tokyo, Huske swam just off her best time in the 100 fly final, but she finished a heartbreaking fourth place, just one hundredth behind bronze medalist Emma McKeon. She ended up earning a silver medal as part of the U.S. women’s 400 medley relay, and after concluding the Olympics, she began her college career at Stanford. Huske had an up-and-down first NCAAs as she placed second to Alex Walsh in the 200 IM and then second to Kate Douglass in a tight 100 fly final (where a long finish may have cost Huske the title). Huske enters Trials with the advantage of having already performed in the bright spotlight of Olympic Trials and then coming close to winning an Olympic medal, but her 100 fly figures to be one of the most competitive events of the meet. She will also have a chance to make the World Championships team in the sprint freestyles (particularly as a relay swimmer) and possibly the 200 IM. 10. Emma Weyant Another swimmer who began her college career following the Olympics, Emma Weyant had a quiet NCAAs compared to some of her Virginia teammates. She placed second in the 500yard free and fourth in the 400 IM and also anchored UVA’s second-place 800 free relay. But we cannot forget what Weyant accomplished in long course less than nine months ago. She made a run at Olympic gold in the 400-meter IM and finished behind only Yui Ohashi. She flew under the radar heading into Olympic Trials before pulling off an upset win and then taking care of business in the Tokyo final. She will not be a contender to qualify for Worlds in any other event, but Weyant’s long course 400 IM is special. 11. Erica Sullivan A steady climb to the top of U.S. distance swimming culminated in Tokyo as Erica Sullivan captured the silver 26
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medal in the women’s 1500 freestyle. Sullivan sat in fifth and sixth place for most of the race before running down her opponents and finally moving into second to complete a 1-2 U.S. finish. Sullivan had delayed the start of her college career by three years to prepare for the Olympics, and she switched her commitment from USC to Texas, but she finally enrolled in the fall of 2021 at age 21. Her first collegiate season saw her place second at the NCAA Championships in the 1650-yard free (despite swimming in an early heat) and third in the 500 free as she played a big part in the Longhorns finishing second in the team competition. 12. Annie Lazor A late-career surge allowed Annie Lazor to qualify for her first Olympic team at age 26. Lazor, who trains with Lilly King at Indiana University, was incredibly emotional upon qualifying for the Games, particularly after her father passed away just months before, and in the Tokyo final, she moved into medal position on the third 50 and then held off surging Russian teenager Evgeniia Chikunova to grab an Olympic bronze medal. Lazor has looked good in the early going of 2022 with her season-best mark of 2:22.59 in the 200 breast ranking first in the world, and Lazor is also a talented 100 breaststroker. She finished third in the event at Olympic Trials, and she would likely be a medal contender at World Championships if she could get by one of King or Lydia Jacoby at Trials. 13. Katharine Berkoff The first non-Olympian on this list is Katharine Berkoff, who placed fourth in the 100 backstroke at Olympic Trials. However, a long course jump looks imminent after Berkoff delivered a magnificent performance to win the NCAA title in the 100-yard back last month. She posted a time of 48.74, exactly one second faster than she swam on the way to the 2021 national crown in the event, and she demolished the previous American record by four tenths. Admittedly, Berkoff will not benefit from swimming more than half the race underwater when she transitions to long course racing, but she has a solid track record in the 50-meter pool as well. The stunning nature of that short course swim indicates that Berkoff should have a big performance in store for long course as well. 14. Katie Grimes It’s safe to say that Katie Grimes would not have been on this list one year ago. Grimes was just 15 when broke out at the 2021 Olympic Trials. She followed up an unexpected third-place finish in the 1500 freestyle by finishing second in the 800 free and claiming a spot in Tokyo alongside Katie Ledecky. In Tokyo, Grimes was the second-fastest swimmer in prelims before placing fourth in the final. She posted a series of incredible swims at Winter Junior Nationals in December: 4:32.97 in the 500-yard free, 4:00.66 in the 400 IM and 15:34.72 in the 1650 free. Those times in both freestyle races were faster than the winning marks at the recent NCAA Championships.
More recently, Grimes won the U.S. national 10k open water title to secure herself a spot at the World Championships, and in Greensboro, she will be gunning to qualify for the pool team as well. She will be a contender in distance freestyle and maybe the 400 IM. 15. Abbey Weitzeil The top U.S. sprinter over the past year has been Abbey Weitzeil, a 25-year-old and a veteran of two Olympic teams. Weitzeil was the only American to qualify for the finals in the 50 and 100 freestyle in Tokyo, and she swam a gallant anchor leg on the U.S. women’s 400 medley relay to secure a silver medal after leading the 400 free relay squad to bronze earlier in the meet. After a strong fall representing the LA Current in the ISL, Weitzeil won six medals at the Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi, a haul which included the first individual medal of her career at a major international meet, a bronze in the 100 free. She has been the most consistent U.S. sprint freestyler in recent years, which makes her a slight favorite in both events for the Greensboro Trials. Others Considered Just missing this list was the swimmer who finished fourth in both backstroke events in Tokyo, Alabama’s Rhyan White. She was a contender but not a favorite to qualify for the Olympic team last year, but she ended up beating out a strong
field to finish second behind Regan Smith in the 100 back at Olympic Trials and then upsetting Smith and Phoebe Bacon in the 200 back. Gretchen Walsh, Alex’s younger sister, came very close to earning a spot on this list after she swam faster than the previous American records in finishing second in the 50-yard free and 100 back at NCAAs and also winning the national title in the 100 free. At the very least, the younger Walsh is a contender to qualify for World Championships in a relay. Speaking of sprinters, reigning 50 and 100 free world champion Simone Manuel has not competed since the Tokyo Olympics, so her status for Trials is unclear. Manuel did not qualify for the 100 free final at Olympic Trials last year, and afterward, she revealed she had been diagnosed with Overtraining Syndrome. Manuel did bounce back to win the 50 free at that meet, and she was used on the U.S. women’s 400 free relay in Tokyo. The most recent U.S. swimmer to set an individual world record was Kelsi Dahlia, who broke the short course meters mark in the 100 butterfly during the 2021 ISL final. Dahlia missed last year’s Olympic team after finishing fourth in the 100 fly at Olympic Trials, and she faces a tough battle this year with the three swimmers who placed ahead of her (Torri Huske, Claire Curzan and Kate Douglass) all returning. ◄
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SWIM CAMP DIRECTORY The listings on pages 29-32 are paid advertisements.
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY 2169 Field House Dr. USAFA, CO 80840 719-333-2116 afasportscamps@airforceathletics.org www.goairforcefalcons.com/camps Camp Dates: June 6-10 (ages 12-18) June 13-17 (ages 12-18) Thank you for considering the AF Swim Camps for your swimmer this summer. Our camp offers thorough analysis of stroke technique to include video analysis of the world’s best swimmers along with video of each individual camper. The session will offer challenging training programs and plenty of stroke analysis. Our camp is best suited for experienced swimmers with a good yearround training base. The Cadet Natatorium on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy, which recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation, features all new bulkheads, starting blocks, scoreboards and lighting. The natatorium facilities offer video analysis, reaction time pads on the blocks, an adjacent state-of-theart dryland training room and more. In addition to its high-altitude location at 7,200 feet, this is a world-class facility matched by only a few in the country.
THE ARETE SWIM CAMP & CLINICS Coach Chuck Warner, Camp Director areteswimcamp@gmail.com www.areteswim.com Super-Strokes & Skills Clinics: April 24 & May 1 Camp Dates: June 26-30 Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, N.J. Our intense instruction led by three-time USA National Team Coach Chuck Warner has helped transform more than 4,000 swimmers. For 18 consecutive years, ARETE has sold out most sessions. Our four core objectives are: Immediate Skill Improvement, Self-Esteem Development, Teamwork and “WOW Experiences.”
Each swimmer is filmed underwater and has permanent access to their own recording. A coach analyzes each stroke with each swimmer using our camp workbook. A key aspect of our camp is our “Inner Engineering Curriculum,” and we have a coach-toswimmer ratio of 1:9 or better. Coach Warner’s experience includes: •
Four-time Big East Conference Coach of the Year
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Author of …And Then They Won Gold; Four Champions, One Gold Medal; EDDIE REESE: Coaching Swimming, Teaching Life
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Former president of the American Swimming Coaches Association
Ages: 7-18 2022 Clinic Fees: $185 both clinics 2022 Camp Fees: $695 commuter/$895 resident before May 1 (rate increases after).
BOLLES SWIM CAMP Ryan Mallam The Bolles School 7400 San Jose Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32217 904-256-5215 swimcamp@bolles.org www.Bollesswimming.org Bolles Swim Camp provides opportunities for campers to learn from Olympic-experienced coaches, to live and train on the beautiful Bolles riverfront campus with swimmers from around the world and to participate in classroom sessions, dryland training and fun camp activities. Elite Camps I and II June 5-11 and June 11-18 For intermediate-to-advanced swimmers 13 and older Elite Camp III and the June Classic Swim Meet June 18-27 For intermediate-to-advanced swimmers 13 and older who are prepared for the meet, a prelims-finals competition hosted annually Sprint Camp June 27-July 8 An extended camp experience focused on developing speed in the water Junior Elite Camp June 6-10 and June 13-17 (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) A training opportunity for swimmers ages 9-12 For the novice-experienced competitive swimmer For more information and to register, visit www.BollesSwimming.org or email swimcamp@bolles.org.
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LONGHORNS SWIM CAMP Jon Alter, Camp Director The University of Texas P.O. Box 7399 Austin, TX 78713-7399 512-475-8652 • Fax 512-232-1273 longhornswimcamp@athletics.utexas.edu www.LonghornSwimCamp.com Headed by three-time Olympic and Texas head men’s coach Eddie Reese, 2019 World University Games and women’s coach Carol Capitani, former USA Swimming National Junior Team Director and assistant women’s coach Mitch Dalton and assistant 2018 Team USA Pan-Pac/associate men’s coach Wyatt Collins, the Longhorns Swim Camp is the most exciting camp in the country! The 2022 Longhorns Swim Camp is proud to feature multiple Olympians, American record holders and NCAA champions on staff. We welcome Olympians Ian Crocker, Colleen Lanné-Cox, Whitney Hedgepeth, American record holder Will Licon and 2019 NCAA champion/Team USA World University Games member John Shebat! Josh Davis, three-time Olympic gold medalist, returns for his 23rd year with the program. Josh coaches the Friday morning session. Camp is held at the Jamail Texas Swimming Center on the University of Texas at Austin campus, home to 23 NCAA team champions. Facility includes an indoor 50-meter by 25-yard pool, a 25-yard by 25-meter pool and the 50-meter by 25-yard Eddie Reese outdoor pool. Four training groups based on age and ability, with a 1:7 coach/swimmer ratio in technique sessions. Male and female swimmers (ages 8-18) of any level are welcome. It is highly recommended, but not required, that swimmers have competitive experience prior to attending. Training at the Longhorns Swim Camp focuses on intensive long-course conditioning and thorough stroke instruction and analysis. Camp is divided into four challenging ability groups based on age and 100-yard freestyle times. One-hour daily sessions focus on swim-specific dryland and strength training exercises. Long course training varies from one to two hours daily depending on ability level. Two 90-minute daily sessions focus specifically on technique work. Stroke drills, as well as start-and-turn mechanics are included along with classroom sessions and underwater video analysis of each swimmer. Cost: Overnight Camp $1,090; Day Camp $990. Complete camp information and online registration available at: Longhornswimcamp.com. Per NCAA rules, sport camps and clinics conducted by The University of Texas are open to all entrants. Enrollment is limited only by age, grade level, gender and capacity restrictions as specified by each camp. NCAA guidelines prohibit payment of camp expenses by a representative of The University of Texas’ athletics interest. NCAA rules also prohibit free or reduced camp admission for prospects (9th grade and above). See display ad on page 28.
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MICHIGAN SWIM CAMP at The University of Michigan 2062 Castello Circle (office) Ann Arbor, MI 48108 734-845-8596 umswim1@gmail.com www.michiganswimcamp.com or www.camps.mgoblue.com/swimming Four sessions open to any and all entrants, limited to age and 215 campers per session in Canham Natatorium at the University of Michigan. A staff of 60+ and three instructional sessions per day ensure the individual attention necessary for significant improvement. Coaches Mike Bottom, Dr. Josh White, Sam Wensman, Cauli Bedran, Priscilla Barletta, Ksenia Gromova, Kurt Kirner and Roger Karns are directly involved in coaching and teaching campers. All campers videoed and receive a written stroke analysis. Optional custom video and/or Kistler start-and-turn analysis available for an additional fee. Choose the Intensive Training Track or the Technique Development Track. World-class staff provides leadership and mentoring that encourage each swimmer to strive for excellence in and out of the pool. Cost includes instruction, swim cap, T-shirt, color photo, instructional materials, “goody bag”: $690/week commuter no meals, $720 commuter and lunch, and $765 commuter lunch and dinner. See display ad on page 28.
MOUNTAINEER HIGH ALTITUDE TRAINING CAMPS at Western Colorado University Vickie Fellows, Head Coach Western Colorado University 1 Western Way Gunnison, CO 81231 Phone: 970-943-2310 • Cell: 505-453-3514 vfellows@western.edu www.gomountaineers.com/sports/2021/12/2/ swim-camps.aspx Camp Dates: June 17-21 June 24-28 Mountaineer High Altitude Training Camps offer the most unique training experience in the country. Western Colorado University is located in Gunnison, Colo., at an elevation of 7,723 feet in the Rocky Mountains. Facilities include the highest collegiate pool in the country, a state-of-the-art weight room and private locker rooms. The university is situated in a high alpine valley, which makes it ideal for high-altitude training. Each athlete will receive a High Altitude Training T-shirt and cap. Additionally, meals will be provided, and athletes will be lodged in the college dorm rooms. All attendees will get to meet and work with collegiate athletes. Camps will focus on teaching, refining and reinforcing elite
swimming technique as well as aerobic-based training at high elevation. Swimmers will walk away with a deeper understanding of their strokes as well as their starts, turns and finishes. Camps are open to swimmers ages 11-18 who want to take their performance to the next level.
NAVY SWIMMING CAMPS & CLINICS 2022 Bill Roberts, Camp Director Navy Swimming Camps 2022 566 Brownson Rd. Annapolis, MD 21402 410-293-3012, 410-293-5834 navyswimmingcamp@usna.edu www.navyswimmingcamp.com or www.navysports.com https://www.facebook.com/NAVYSwimmingCamp https://www.instagram.com/navyswimcamp Camp Dates: June 14-18 Session I June 20-24 Session II Clinics: June 18 & 19 (see website for 2022 clinic offerings) Now going into our 24th season, expect direct results by being part of the 2022 Navy Swimming Camp this summer! Our principal goal is to provide you the very best in individual instruction, evaluation, camper experience and safety/supervision. The purpose of our camp is to offer you a unique environment to learn and develop your competitive strokes, including all related starts, turns and finishes. Navy Swimming Camp is a stroke-intensive camp. Swimming campers will receive individual attention. Additional training sessions are offered to all needing to maintain conditioning while at camp. Video analysis, dryland activities designed to improve individual fitness levels, performance, training, goal-setting, leadership presentations and the Severn River boat cruise are all part of the schedule for 2022. Also, outstanding and accomplished guest speakers and presenters all scheduled for this year’s edition of the Navy Swimming Camp. Campers will learn, train and reside in an amazing and unique environment on the grounds of the United States Naval Academy. Additionally, teamwork and leadership are important points of emphasis for every camper. The Navy camp is led by an experienced camp staff while providing the very best in 24-hour supervision. See www.navyswimmingcamp.com for greater detail, including brochure, application, daily schedule and frequently asked questions. Cost for each camp: $725/commuter camper (ages 8-18), $775/extended day camper (ages 8-18), $825/resident camper (ages 9-18). All campers receive a NAVY swimming shirt & an exclusive NAVY backstroke flag. Go Navy!
NORTHERN COLORADO SWIMMING CAMPS Lisa Ebeling, Camp Director University of Northern Colorado 5716 W. 17th Street Rd. Greeley, CO 80634 970-451-1476 Lisa.ebeling@unco.edu www.uncswimmingcamps.com Camp Dates: June 6-10 Session 1 June 13-17 Session 2 UNC Swimming Camps are designed to teach athletes the technical aspects of swimming to help them achieve success at the next level. The main focus of our camp is on stroke analysis and technique for starts and turns through in-depth video review. We also provide elite high-altitude training sessions, team building activities, nutritional education, competition preparation tools and mental training. We group athletes according to skill level, and are able to accommodate swimmers of all levels, ages 8-18. UNC Swimming Camps are open to any and all entrants (limited only by number, age, grade level and/or gender).
SPIRE INSTITUTE & ACADEMY | CAMPS 440-466-1002 info@spireinstitute.org www.spireinstitute.org SPIRE offers three-day and five-day Stroke Camps, three-day Start & Turn Camps and three-day and five-day Training Camps for ages 10 and older. These swimming camps are either boarding or non-boarding, and are for competitive swimmers. Stroke Camps are structured around a philosophy of teaching skill acquisition and development in all four competitive strokes as well as starts and turns. Two daily water sessions are led by a world-class staff. Workouts are structured to improve stroke technique with a combination of drills, skills and training. Each athlete will have opportunities to enhance all phases of competitive swimming through individualized attention from our excellent coaches and counselors. Individual stroke analysis, dryland instruction and lecture sessions will give the campers one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date training camp experiences available in the United States. The Competitive Start &Turn Camp will only focus on starts and turns. Emphasis is about turning these often-overlooked skills into a true competitive advantage. Swimmers will receive intensive instruction on the forward and backstroke starts with safety being a priority. Fast, legal turns for all four competitive strokes and the IM transition turns will be covered. Each athlete will receive individual attention from a staff of outstanding coaches and instructors. SPIRE Training Camp offers a positive environment for swimmers to be challenged by intensive conditioning with daily training sessions on technique, race strategy and unique training methods. See display ad on page 27 for dates and cost.
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STR SPEEDWEEK SWIM CAMPS USING SCIENCE TO IMPROVE TECHNIQUE 850-385-9803 info@swimmingtechnology.com www.swimmingtechnology.com
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Control the base of support to minimize resistance and maximize propulsion Benefit from elbow flexion at the beginning of the pull in all four strokes Increase the arm index of coordination in freestyle Minimize shoulder stress on the freestyle and butterfly arm entry Reduce intracycle fluctuations in body velocity in breaststroke and butterfly Gain extra propulsion on the freestyle push phase in freestyle, butterfly and backstroke Practice deliberately to make technique changes quickly
Are you: • Looking for a significant time drop? • Serious about improving your technique? • Hoping to reduce or eliminate shoulder pain? • Ready to compete at the next level? • Interested in extending your swimming career to college?
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If you are, then an STR SpeedWeek is your best swim camp option! We are the only camp with scientific studies that confirm the effect of our technique improvement strategies. In the morning classroom instructional session, swimmers learn specific cues to see and feel so they can swim like MONA, a biomechanical model of optimal technique. The following pool session includes deliberate practice strategies to help the swimmers optimize technique—short swims at a slow stroke rate with lots of individual feedback. In the afternoon, swimmers are tested in the pool and analyzed in the classroom with Aquanex—our patented system that captures synchronized underwater video and hand force data. This sciencebased analysis is unlike anything else in the world of swimming, giving swimmers the information they need to fine-tune their technique and make drastic time drops.
The STR bottom line: We guarantee we can show every swimmer how to swim faster. SpeedWeek helps you make technique changes based on scientific data rather than opinion. Our campers make incomparable progress and learn practice strategies that help them continue to improve on return to normal training. Each SpeedWeek is limited to 12 swimmers to ensure maximum individual attention by Dr. Rod Havriluk, world-renowned biomechanist and technique expert. Dr. Havriluk is internationally recognized for his unique approach to accelerating skill-learning and preventing shoulder injury. He is widely published and a frequent conference presenter (ASCA, ASCTA, BMS, FINA, IOC, ISCA, USAS, USMS, USSSA). In 2015, he was selected by Swimming World Magazine as one of the top 10 individuals making an impact on swimming. Check our STR website for camp dates, locations and more info: swimmingtechnology.com.
You will learn to: • Optimize the non-breathing head position
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STR SPEEDWEEK SWIM CAMPS
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Phone: 850-385-9803 Email: info@swimmingtechnology.com
Ahead of U.S. Trials, the Top-15 Male Swimmers in the Country
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BY DAVID RIEDER
t’s hard to believe it, but the U.S. Trials for this summer’s World Championships are already approaching quickly. While the top meet in the United States usually falls between mid-June and late July, this year’s meet will be held April 26-30 in Greensboro, N.C. It was originally scheduled to accommodate a late May World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, and the dates were not changed after the Fukuoka meet was postponed to July 2023 and then a new Worlds in Budapest was placed on the calendar for this June. At the Tokyo Olympics, U.S. male swimmers earned six individual gold medals plus two further golds on relays, but only six individuals reached the podium. The Americans were shut out of the medals entirely in the breaststroke events as well as two events that the retired Michael Phelps had dominated for a decade-and-a-half. Additionally, a U.S. men’s relay finished off the podium for the first time ever Before the five-day qualifying meet begins, here are the rankings of the top-15 American male swimmers based on their abilities in the long course pool and their chances to win medals at the World Championships. Of course, comparing swimmers across events is a very imperfect science, and we must weigh previous years’ accomplishments against the results of the NCAA Championships held last month as well as the ISL and Short Course World Championships in December, which means projecting long course results based on short course.
Several of the decisions on this list were tough calls, but the clear leader among top swimmers in the country and also the world is 25-year-old Floridian Caeleb Dressel. 1. Caeleb Dressel Dressel is the dominant swimmer in the world, and he has been ever since 2017, when he won a record-tying seven gold medals at the World Championships. He has won individual golds in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly at the last three major competitions: Worlds in 2017 and 2019 (he also won the 50 fly in 2019) and then the Tokyo Olympics, where he became just the third male swimmer after Phelps and Mark Spitz to win three or more individual golds in one Olympics. He has only appeared in two editions of the World Championships, but his 13 gold medals at that meet already rank him fourth in history behind Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Katie Ledecky. Dressel’s main 100 free rival Kyle Chalmers will miss Worlds, but he will still have to fend off challengers including Hungarian butterfly star Kristof Milak. Still, barring anything shocking in Greensboro, Dressel will be the No. 1 swimmer in the world heading into this year’s Worlds. 2. Ryan Murphy It was a tough call for the second spot on this list, but the choice is Ryan Murphy, one of the world’s top backstrokers since he swept Olympic gold medals in the 100 and 200-meter
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distances at the 2016 Olympics. Murphy has not won an individual Olympic or world title since then, but he has been consistently on international podiums year after year while also providing the key leadoff leg for the U.S. men’s medley relay, which set a world record in winning Olympic gold in Tokyo. He will be heavily favored to win the 100 and 200 back at U.S. Trials, and if he does so, he would become the gold-medal favorite in both events for Worlds. None of the swimmers who beat Murphy in Tokyo (Evgeny Rylov in both events and Kliment Kolesnikov in the 100 back) will be in attendance because FINA banned all Russian athletes following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. So this year might be Murphy’s best shot to make a run at that elusive individual world title.
he would be able to drop time and contend in the event in Tokyo. He was correct, and he ended up with an individual bronze medal for his efforts. He also qualified for the 200 free final in Tokyo, and he led off the U.S. men’s 800 free relay in 1:44.74, the quickest leadoff split in the field and good enough to make Smith the third-fastest American ever in the event. But Smith’s senior-year NCAA Championships did not go as planned as he finished fourth in the 500-yard , an event where he holds the fastest time in history, and fifth in the 200 free, where he was the defending champion. Smith did post a solid fourth-place performance in the 200 back, and he anchored Florida to a dramatic win in the 200 free relay, but he will need to channel the Olympics version of himself to return to international contention this year.
3. Bobby Finke Bobby Finke could make an easy case for No. 2 since he was one of only three American swimmers (Dressel and Ledecky were the others) to win multiple individual gold medals in the pool in Tokyo. Finke pulled off stunning come-from-behind wins in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle, becoming the first U.S. gold medalist in a men’s distance race since Mike O’Brien in 1984. More recently, Finke completed his college career with a dominating performance in the 1650-yard free at the NCAA Championships, a race he called “one of the sloppiest miles I’ve ever done.” The distance races are relatively thin for the United States behind Finke, so he will certainly be favored to win both at Trials, and depending on his event lineup, he could also be a factor in the 400 free and/or 400 IM. Expect Finke to once again go head-to-head with Florian Wellbrock, Mykhailo Romanchuk and Gregorio Paltrinieri for world titles in the 800 and 1500 in June.
6. Michael Andrew Michael Andrew’s first Olympics did not go as planned as he did not get on the podium for any of his individual events, but Andrew, who turns 23 on Monday, is now well-established on the international scene. Andrew was ranked first in the world in the 200 IM prior to the Olympics and third in the 100 breaststroke, but he ended up finishing fourth in the 100 breast before fading to fifth in the 200 IM, despite leading the race with 50 meters to go. The last 50 meters of the 200 IM has been a struggle for Andrew throughout his career, but he will have a lot of chances to make his mark in 2022 for the United States. He will likely swim all four 50-meter events at Trials, and in 2019, he became the first swimmer to qualify for the final in all four 50s. He was fourth in the 50 free at the Olympics, missing a medal by just three hundredths, and he finished his Games on a strong note as he swam the breaststroke leg of the world-record-setting 400 medley relay. We will see plenty of Andrew at Trials, and he will likely put himself in the mix for a variety of events at Worlds.
4. Chase Kalisz In Tokyo, Chase Kalisz won the first gold medal in the pool and the first gold medal for the United States in any event as he captured the 400 IM title, leading a U.S. 1-2 finish with Georgia training partner Jay Litherland. Kalisz has previously won world titles in the 200 IM as well as his signature 400 IM. However, Kalisz is a bit of a wildcard heading into this year. He hinted last summer that he may move away from swimming the 400 IM in the future, and he has not raced the event in long course since Tokyo. He posted some solid swims at the most recent TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio, including a win in the 200 butterfly and third-place finishes in the 200 breaststroke and 200 IM, so it’s not clear what to expect from him in Greensboro. Of course, Kalisz was a wildcard last year entering Trials after a down year in 2019 when he was dealing with an injury (then undisclosed), and he ended up becoming an Olympic champion. 5. Kieran Smith When Kieran Smith qualified for his first Olympic team last year in the 400 freestyle, he expressed confidence that 34
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7. Nic Fink Nic Fink had a huge year in 2021. After finishing third in an extremely close 100 breast final at Olympic Trials, he qualified for his first Olympic team by winning the 200 breaststroke, and after placing sixth in the Tokyo final, he produced a remarkable fall short course season on the ISL circuit. He won all three breaststroke events in the ISL final, upsetting Ilya Shymanovich on each occasion, and then he captured two individual gold medals (200 breast and 50 breast) at the Short Course World Championships. Fink swam those remarkable performances in the fall while he was beginning a graduate program at Georgia Tech for electrical and computer engineering, and the 28-year-old recently said told Swimming World that he’s not sure how much longer swimming will be a priority in his life. But for 2022, he remains the best U.S. hope in the 200 breast, and he has a solid chance of making the World Championships in the 100-meter distance as well.
[ Photo by Peter H. Bick ]
pressure spot as the anchor leg of the U.S. men’s 400 freestyle relay, and he delivered with a 46.69 split to secure American gold. However, two days later, Apple missed the individual final of the 100 free before swimming a disappointing split on the 800 free relay that ended up costing the American men a medal. However, he would bounce back to anchor another relay, the U.S. men’s 400 medley, to gold and a new world record. Apple has not posted any standout swims since Tokyo, but he has built a consistent track record of success in the 100 and 200 free over the past five years. He consistently qualifies for the biggest meets of the year and then performs, so it’s fair to expect Apple to be in that mix again in 2022.
>> Jay Literland 8. Jay Litherland Jay Litherland is the final man on this list to have won an individual Olympic medal. The 400 IM is the only event in which Litherland is competitive internationally, but he is really good at it. The 26-year-old was the silver medalist in the event at the 2019 World Championships, and then he matched that finish at the Tokyo Olympics as he placed second behind teammate Chase Kalisz. Litherland has solid skills in all four strokes, but his final 100 meters are absolutely elite. He has earned his two Olympic berths by pulling stunning comebacks on the freestyle leg, passing Ryan Lochte in the Olympic Trials final in 2016 and then running down Carson Foster five years later. In Tokyo, Litherland was sixth with 100 meters to go before running down everyone except Kalisz to earn the silver medal. 9. Shaine Casas After he captured three national titles at the 2021 NCAA Championships, Shaine Casas looked to be in position to qualify for his first Olympic team. He fell just short of that accomplishment at Olympic Trials, but he was brilliant in his international debut for the United States at the Short Course World Championships in December. Casas won the short course world title in the 100 backstroke, edging out Olympic bronze medalist Kliment Kolesnikov, and he also won silver in the 200 back and four relay medals. So far this year, Casas has posted the fastest time in the United States in the 100 butterfly (51.09) and 200 IM (1:56.70) as well as the second-quickest marks in the 100 back (53.28) and 200 back (1:58.09). Now training at the University of Texas, Casas will be a contender to qualify for the World Championships in all of those events along with possibly the 100 freestyle as a relay swimmer. 10. Zach Apple In his first Olympic final, Zach Apple was thrust into the high-
11. Carson Foster Will this be the season that Carson Foster finally puts it all together? Following his freshman season at the University of Texas, Foster was the top qualifier for the 400 IM final at Olympic Trials, but he ended up finishing third behind Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland, who went on to finish 1-2 in the event at the Olympics. He also narrowly missed the Olympic team in the 800 freestyle relay. A month later, Foster swam the fastest time in the world in the 400 IM, faster than the winning time at the Olympics, at a Sectionals meet in Austin. Foster made his senior debut for Team USA at the Short Course World Championships, where he won a silver medal in the 200 IM and a bronze in the 400 IM, and he appeared to be building toward a huge performance at the NCAA Championships. He posted some quick times in Atlanta, including a brilliant 3:33.79 in the 400-yard IM, but he was slower in the finals in all three of his events. Performing at his best in key moments remains has been challenging for Foster so far, although he is only 20 years old, with plenty CLASSIFIED CAMP COUNSELORS / COACHES The Michigan Swim Camp at the University of Michigan is looking for individuals seeking an opportunity to work with Olympic coach Mike Bottom and staff. Five sessions (June 5-9, June 12-16, July 31 – August 4, August 7-11). Room, board, plus $550/week salary and $125 travel expense help. Applicants must be 21 years or older, have attended at least two years of college and have experience as a competitive swimmer and/or coach. References, clean background check, CPR and First Aid certification are required. For more information email Lauralyn Bottom, lbottom98@ gmail.com. Candidates must be willing to work in an alcohol/drug-free environment. Michigan Swim Camp, LLC Jim Richardson, Camp Director 2062 Castello Circle Cell: 734-845-8596 Ann Arbor, MI. 48108 Fax: 734-929-2477 E-mail: umswim1@gmail.com Web: www.michiganswimcamp.com www.camps.mgoblue.com/swimming Continued >> BIWEEKLY
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12. Luca Urlando The newest American-record holder is 20-year-old Luca Urlando. Long known for his impressive skills in the butterfly events, Urlando used sensational underwaters to take down Ryan Murphy’s national mark in the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Championships last month. He also finished third in the 200 IM and second in both butterfly races on the college level. In long course, Urlando will have a very real chance to qualify for the World Championships in the 100 and 200 butterfly, both races in which he placed third at Olympic Trials last year, as well as in the 200 freestyle for relay duty. Urlando has been as quick as 1:53.84 in the 200 fly (in 2019), a performance which made him the third-fastest American ever. He has not approached that form in three years, but getting close would put him in the conversation for individual medals at Worlds.
15. Brooks Curry LSU’s Brooks Curry was a surprise qualifier to the 2021 Olympic team after placing fourth in the 100 freestyle at Olympic Trials, and he earned a gold medal as a prelims relay swimmer in Tokyo. He followed up that success with a brilliant college season, which included NCAA titles in the 50-yard free and 100 free, and if he can navigate the upcoming Trials, he will be set up to expand his presence on the U.S. team in 2022. Curry is 21, much younger than most of the other contenders in the sprint events for the U.S., and the Americans will definitely need some increased depth in the sprint events to maintain their recent hold over the 400 free relay, particularly with veteran Nathan Adrian not having competed since Olympic Trials and Blake Pieroni missing this year with injuries.
13. Coleman Stewart Based on his career history, Coleman Stewart will have a tough time qualifying for the World Championships. He did earn spots in two finals at last year’s Olympic Trials, finishing tied for fourth in the 100 butterfly and eighth in the 100 freestyle, while he ended up 10th in the event considered his best, the 100 backstroke. Two months later, Stewart became a world-record holder as he swam a 48.33 in the short course 100 back during the second meet of the ISL season. Stewart has been a remarkable short course backstroker going back to his days as a standout at North Carolina State, but he has not been able to translate that into long course success. Still, a world record earned him a nod here, and if he can find a spot
Others Considered There will definitely be a chance for some new faces to make an impact on the U.S. men’s team this year with many veterans from the Tokyo team absent from this year’s Trials. Townley Haas and Andrew Seliskar have both retired, while Olympic finalist breaststroker Andrew Wilson has not competed since Tokyo. Veteran sprinter Ryan Held and breaststroker Will Licon will be among those looking to qualify for the Worlds team after narrowly missing the cut for the Olympics last year. Also worth watching are NCAA champions Destin Lasco (backstroke) and Max McHugh (breaststroke), but neither has shown long course skills that match their accomplishments in the 25-yard pool.
[ Photo by Peter H. Bick ]
of time to change that narrative. At Trials, he will again be a favorite to qualify for Worlds in the 400 IM and for relay duty in the 200 free, and should he perform to his potential, World Championship medals will definitely be a possibility.
to have success in the 50-meter pool, Stewart would likely move up in the rankings. 14. Drew Kibler University of Texas standout Drew Kibler made the jump to long course last year when he qualified for his first Olympic team as the third-place finisher in the 200 freestyle at Trials. He ended up swimming the second leg of the American men’s 800 freestyle relay in Tokyo, and he recorded a 1:45.51 split that kept the United States in the lead, although the team ended up without a medal. He returned for his senior season at Texas and won his first individual NCAA title in the 200-yard freestyle, where Kibler swam a time of 1:30.28 to defeat a loaded field. Kibler returned to long course one week later and posted solid times in the 200 free (1:47.61) and 100 free (49.30) at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio to set himself up for Greensboro.
>> Drew Kibler
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Swimmers compete at the 2022 Spring Speedo Sectional Meet held at Phoenix Country Day Aquatic Center in Phoenix, Ariz, March 24- 27. Swim Neptune Arizona edged out host Phoenix Swim Club, 2,068.5 to 2,033, to take the overall combined team title. [ Photo by Joe Johnson ]
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