Olympic Trials Day 5 Finals: Kate Douglass Pulls Away to Win Women’s 100 Free; Huske, Walsh, Manuel on Relay

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The biggest session of the 2024 US Olympic Trials began with the biggest gauntlet of an event.

The women’s 100 freestyle is often a place where the elite in multiple events come together and the final was as stacked as ever at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Torri Huske. Simone Manuel. Kate Douglass. Gretchen Walsh. Abbey Weitzeil. Catie DeLoof. Erika (Brown) Connolly. All Olympians.

Seven of the eight finalists are Olympians with the lone outlier, Beata Nelson, a multi-NCAA champion.

Absolutely stacked.

Weitzeil and Manuel have been the sprinting mainstays for the U.S. for the past decade-plus.

Douglass won the race at 52.56 despite being fourth at the turn. Huske was second in 52.93, followed by Walsh (53.13) and Manuel (53.25).

Manuel made her third Olympic team, while Douglass, Huske and Walsh are all headed to their second Games.

Manuel was noticeably emotional after the race.

“When I think about how far I had to come and the mountain I had to climb, it is important for me to look back and be proud of myself for continuing to fight through this process and believe in myself,” Manuel said.

Walsh led at the halfway point and hung on to make the relay three years after missing the team.

“It means a lot. I have definitely battled with this event for a lot of years – and it has been quite a journey to even get back to the times I was going when I was 16. To get third in such a competitive event is pretty much a dream come true,” Walsh said.

Weitzeil was fifth to take what should be the first alternate spot at 53.70, her third team.

The second alternate spot was a tie between DeLoof and Connolly at 53.86. The process of what happens next on this is unclear.

If enough spots allow, 5-6 usually go as relay alternates and usually swim the prelims at the Olympics. A possible swim-off could be looming if there are enough spots.

The American record coming into the Olympic Trials was 52.04, set by Manuel. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom still holds the world record at 51.71, set in 2017.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use