By Peter Baugh, Swimming World College Intern
One nation is vying for six relay spots on the 2016 Olympic team. For the United States, many swimmers have a shot to make the 4×100 free relay.
At the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, Team USA did not make it through preliminaries into the championship final in the men’s 400-meter freestyle relay. Many young swimmers emerged this past summer, leaving the future of the 100-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle relay a mystery.
Nathan Adrian, who won the 100-meter freestyle gold medal in the 2012 Olympics, feels that the U.S. is in a transition stage in the event.
“Everybody following closely for the past four plus years kind of saw this coming,” Adrian said. “Our relays have largely been the same people for a pretty long time now. It is kind of a crossroads.”
Adrian hopes to lead the charge for the U.S. sprinters next Olympics. At Kazan he earned a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle and also made finals in the 100-meter event.
There is an expectation that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio will see some younger swimmers in the mix for the United States.
“I think there’s definitely going to be some veterans but I also think there’s going to be some newer, younger faces, more up-and-coming guys,” said Ryan Held, a North Carolina State sophomore who posted the ninth fastest 100-meter freestyle time by an American this year.
Of the United States’ six fastest 100-meter freestyle times posted this past year, four came from swimmers that were either in college or younger.
Leading the charge was Caeleb Dressel, a sophomore at Florida. Dressel won the Phillips 66 National Championships in both the 100-meter freestyle and the 50-meter freestyle. In the 100-meter event he posted a time of 48.78. The only person faster? Nathan Adrian.
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
“Seeing someone that’s that young that’s going fast is certainly important,” Adrian said. “I think it’s important for younger people to see that they can mix up who makes the national team.”
Other young swimmers look to make an impact at Olympic Trials next year. Missouri junior Michael Chadwick and Florida recruit Maxime Rooney both posted a 48.87 100-meter freestyle time over the summer. Jack Conger, a junior at Texas went a 49.02 and Held posted a 49.17.
What may be a challenge for the younger swimmers is the pressure that comes at Olympic Trials. Held believes that having a strong mindset is essential.
“I think it’s all about staying mentally calm and mentally there, because if you put too much pressure on yourself … you actually just might psych yourself out and actually maybe go slower,” he said.
Adrian feels confident about the United States 100-meter freestyle swimmers going into the Olympic year. Despite the disappointment in the 400-meter freestyle relay at World Championships, he says not to underestimate that relay at next year’s Olympics.
The Olympic Team takes the top six 100-meter freestyle swimmers from Olympic Trials. The top four are for the relay, while the other two are used as alternates.
With Olympic Trials on the horizon, Adrian feels that the unknown is what interests him the most.
“It’s certainly fun to sit there and try to predict what’s going to happen and how it’s going to unfold, but no one actually knows until we get there and it actually happens,” he said. “And seeing that unpredictability is what’s most exciting for me.”
The team that was sent to the World University Championships was faster than the Worlds team. That’s absurd. This relay was a particularly low point in an overall terrible meet for the US.
Yes, the Universiade relay WAS faster than the ‘disastrous’ heats performance in Kazan but their 3.15.85 time for Gold would NOT have made the Kazan final (cut off for 8th was 3.15.47) and would have left them in the same position (11th).
Don’t worry, USA is not the only team with a problematic M 4X100. AUS was even worse and failed to make top 12 qualifiers and automatically qualify this relay for Rio. They’re now left having to post a time before end of Jun that is amongst the 4 fastest of countries not already qualified. Everything for them centres around Magnussen; if he can return fit and firing then they qualify. Without him, they’re toast.