USA Swimming Olympic Trials Results: Day 7
Eight more spots on the 2016 USA swimming team were up for grabs on Saturday night, and they all went to individuals who had already qualified for Rio.
Here’s a look at the results:
Women’s 200m Back
No surprise here. Maya DiRado and Missy Franklin, who had each already qualified in other events, finished 1-2 and will represent the United States in the 200m backstroke in Rio.
That said, DiRado’s level of dominance over Franklin, the world-record holder and defending Olympic champion, was a bit surprising. Franklin has taken a bit of a step back, and DiRado had the best time during the semifinals, but to beat Franklin by about a full second was impressive.
DiRado, a quickly rising star, will race three individual events in Rio (200m IM, 400m IM, 200m backstroke), while Franklin will have two (200m freestyle, 200m backstroke).
Going to Rio: Maya DiRado and Missy Franklin
Men’s 100m Fly
Michael Phelps will go after his fourth straight Olympic gold medal in the 100m butterfly.
The most decorated Olympian in US history, who will also compete in Rio in the 200m butterfly and 200m IM, was in fourth at the 50-meter mark but turned on the jets down the stretch to beat out an incredibly tight field:
Joining him in Brazil will be Tom Shields, who out-lunged Seth Stubblefield to qualify by a mere four one-hundredths of a second. Shields will compete in both butterfly events next month.
Going to Rio: Michael Phelps, Tom Shields
Women’s 800m Free
It was pretty much guaranteed that Katie Ledecky, who had already qualified in the 200m and 400m free and gets better as the distance increases, would win this event. The only question was whether or not she’d break her own world record.
She didn’t do that, but the rising superstar coasted to an easy victory, giving her three individual events for Rio:
With a time of 8:10.32, Ledecky beat out second-place Leah Smith by nearly 10 seconds. It’s also the third event for Smith, but unfortunately for her, she’s in the same three races as Ledecky, who will likely be favored to captured gold in each of them.
Going to Rio: Katie Ledecky, Leah Smith
Men’s 50m Free
While a major storyline of the trials thus far has been the emergence of young swimmers, a couple of veterans powered through in the 50m freestyle sprint: Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin.
Already qualified in the 100m freestyle (Adrian in the individual event, Ervin as part of the relay team), the pair of swimmers have combined for six Olympic medals and four Olympic appearances. Ervin, amazingly, will be back to defend his 50m freestyle Olympic title 16 years after sharing gold in Sydney.
Going to Rio: Nathan Adrian, Anthony Ervin
Updated USA Swimming Olympic Team 2016
Here’s a list of swimmers who have already qualified for Rio. You can click here to learn more about each individual swimmer.
Men
Jordan Wilimovsky: 10K Open Water
Sean Ryan: 10K Open Water
Chase Kalisz: 400m IM
Jay Litherland: 400m IM
Connor Jaeger: 400m Free
Conor Dwyer: 400m Free*, 200m Free
Kevin Cordes: 100m Breast, 200m Breast
Cody Miller: 100m Breast
Townley Haas: 200m Free
Jack Conger: 200m Free
Ryan Lochte: 200m Free, 200m IM
Ryan Murphy: 100m Back, 200m Back
David Plummer: 100m Back
Michael Phelps: 200m Fly, 200m IM, 100m Fly
Tom Shields: 200m Fly, 100m Fly
Josh Prenot: 200m Breast
Nathan Adrian: 100m Free, 50m Free
Caeleb Dressel: 100m Free
Ryan Held: 100m Free
Anthony Ervin: 100m Free, 50m Free
Jacob Pebley: 200m Back
Women
Haley Anderson: 10K Open Water
Maya DiRado: 400m IM, 200m IM, 200m Back
Elizabeth Beisel: 400m IM
Kelsi Worrell: 100m Fly
Dana Vollmer: 100m Fly
Katie Ledecky: 400m Free, 200m Free, 800m Free
Leah Smith: 400m Free, 200m Free, 800m Free
Olivia Smoliga: 100m Back
Kathleen Baker: 100m Back
Lilly King: 100m Breast, 200m Breast
Katie Meili: 100m Breast
Missy Franklin: 200m Free, 200m Back
Allison Schmitt: 200m Free
Melanie Margalis: 200m IM
Cammile Adams: 200m Fly
Hali Flickinger: 200m Fly
Molly Hannis: 200m Breast
Abbey Weitzeil: 100m Free
Simone Manuel: 100m Free
Amanda Weir: 100m Free
Lia Neal: 100m Free
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