Olympic Trials: Kate Douglass Completes Tough Double in 200 Breast With Top Seed

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Olympic Trials: Kate Douglass Completes Tough Double in 200 Breast With Top Seed

The anticipated three-way battle for two spots in the 200 breaststroke continued as Kate Douglass, Alex Walsh and Lilly King battled in the semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Trials to see who will make the finals.

Douglass was the top seed from the morning at 2:19.66 – nearly five seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

She is coming off of a win in the 100 freestyle earlier in the night, clinching a spot on her second Olympic team.

Douglass dominated at the NCAA level in many strokes and many distances, but has continued to dominate this event. She is the American record holder at 2:19.30, set earlier this year at the Pro Series in Knoxville. Her prelims swim was the Olympic Trials meet record.

Douglass used her long breaststroke to take the early lead and was a body length ahead at the halfway point, though Ella Nelson cut it to a half-body lead momentarily before Douglass pulled well ahead and finished in 2:21.23. Nelson finished in 2:23.84.

King and Walsh squared off in the first semifinal.

In the first semifinal, King was out first and Walsh pulled ahead near the 100 mark. Walsh kept the lead until the final 20 meters as King charged to get to the wall first.

King got to the wall in 2:22.45 just ahead of Walsh (2:22.81)

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