![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,<svg height="439" width="780" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1"/>)
Many of the top swimmers in the world–including Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel and Caeleb Dressel–are in Irvine, Calif, this week for the 2018 U.S. Championships. The meet goes from Wednesday, July 25, through Sunday, July 29.
Coverage of nationals will be televised (both live and delayed) across the Olympic Channel, NBC Sports Network and NBC (full schedule). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch a live stream of all the action (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
NBC (live in most markets), NBCSN and the Olympic Channel are all included in the “Fubo Premier” channel package, which is largely tailored towards sports fans. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch a live stream of any of these channels on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch coverage of nationals up to three days after an event airs even if you forgot to record it.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of live TV channels, including NBC (live in most markets), NBCSN and the Olympic Channel. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of either channel on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
NBC (live in select markets) and NBCSN are both included in the “Sling Blue” channel package, while the Olympic Channel is in the “Sling Blue” plus “Sports Extra” bundle. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of both, and you can then watch the action live on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
How to Watch Prelims
While the above options will mostly allow you to watch the finals and biggest races for most of the events, you can watch prelims online via USASwimming.org.
Preview
Not only is this an opportunity for swimmers to prove themselves as the best in the United States, but nationals also serve as qualifying for the upcoming 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo.
For that meet, which takes place in August, 26 men and 26 women will make the United States squad. However, once a swimmer qualifies in one event for the Pan Pacs team, he or she can swim in any event in Tokyo, so other top finishes by that same swimmer won’t push out others in other events. That means that here at nationals, a third-place finish in an event can still potentially secure a spot at Pan Pacs.
Furthermore, this will have impact on the 2019 world championships squad, as that team will be chosen based on times from both nationals and Pan Pacs.
Katie Ledecky, Simone Manuel, Missy Franklin, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Murphy, Lilly King, Nathan Adrian and Matt Grevers are among the Olympic gold medalists who will be in action this week in Irvine.
