Top 8 Performances of U.S. Olympic Trials: Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith Lead Way With World Records

Gretchen Walsh -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Top 8 Performances of U.S. Olympic Trials: Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith Lead Way With World Records

Nine nights of swimming at Lucas Oil Stadium produced record-setting races in front of record-sized crowds, and by the end, the United States had assembled a team of 46 pool swimmers (20 female, 26 male) to send to the Olympics in Paris next month, where the Australians will be waiting for a showdown after topping the medal chart at last year’s World Championships. The Americans will need improved performances in some events in order to reach the team’s target gold-medal count, but plenty are already in pole position after stellar swims in Indianapolis.

Among those now sitting as gold-medal favorites, the two women who broke world records at the Trials, Gretchen Walsh in the 100 butterfly and Regan Smith in the 100 backstroke. Those two top the list of best swims from the entire week.

1. Gretchen Walsh, Women’s 100 Butterfly, 55.18 (Semifinals, World Record)

The world record had stood for eight years, with Sarah Sjostrom’s mark of 55.48 surviving numerous attempts from Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil plus world champions Torri Huske and Zhang Yufei. But that mark is no more after Walsh announced to the world that she can dominate in long course almost as much as she can in the 25-yard college format.

In the first event of the first finals session of the Trials, Walsh was out a half-second under world-record pace and came back fast enough to beat Sjostrom’s record by three tenths, putting herself on the verge of history’s first 54-second swim. Walsh went on to win the event in the final, and she also qualified for Paris in the 50 freestyle and 400 freestyle relay.

2. Regan Smith, Women’s 100 Backstroke, 57.13 (World Record)

Regan Smith — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

If Walsh earns the top spot for Trials performances, Smith is an easy choice for second after she reclaimed the 100 back record she had first broken five years earlier when she became the first woman ever under 58. This one was no surprise after Smith broke her own American record in a Trials tune-up meet and then again in the semifinals. But the finals race was her best ever, in a career that has already included plenty of record-breaking and medal-winning swims.

Out two tenths under world-record pace, Smith then came home in 29.19, by far her best-ever closing split and almost matching what Kaylee McKeown, the former world-record holder known specifically for her closing speed, has ever accomplished.

3. Matt Fallon, Men’s 200 Breaststroke, 2:06.54 (American Record)

The best performance on the men’s side came from Matt Fallon, who was widely considered the favorite in the 200 breast given his performances the last two years. Fallon won bronze in the event at last year’s World Championships, but he ripped more than a second off his best time at Trials as he became the fastest swimmer in the world this year and an American-record holder, taking down Josh Prenot’s 2016 mark of 2:07.17.

Fallon typically explodes on the third 50 of a race to run down the field, but this time he held something in reserve for the final length, in which he deployed a 32.54 split to seal the win and the record. Fallon moved to No. 5 all-time in the event as he prepares to race the likes of Qin Haiyang, Zac Stubblety-Cook and Leon Marchand in Paris.

4. Torri Huske, Women’s 100 Butterfly, 55.52

She did not come away with a Trials win, but Torri Huske swam a lifetime best in the 100 butterfly as she qualified for her second Olympic team. Not bad considering that her previous best was an American-record mark of 55.64 that yielded her a world title in 2022. This time, Huske had to contend with the loss of her national mark to Walsh in the semifinals as well as a huge push from Smith, who had broken 55 for the first time in the semis, for the second spot.

Huske’s response was enough to get herself onto the Olympic team in her best event and earn a chance to chase an Olympic podium three years after missing by one hundredth. In the final, her closing split of 29.59 was the fastest of her career, and she needed every bit of it to hold off Smith by a tenth for second. Huske’s time moved her to third all-time in the event behind Walsh and Sjostrom.

Caeleb Dressel — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

5. Caeleb Dressel, Men’s 100 Butterfly, 50.19

With wins in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly in the closing days of Olympic Trials, Caeleb Dressel announced his return not just to the Olympic team but to gold-medal-contending status. It would be no surprise if Dressel topped the podium in either of his individual swims in Paris, especially in the 100 fly after he swam a mark of 50.19 to pull away from his domestic rivals.

Dressel’s time of 50.19 was the world’s third-best for 2024, narrowly behind Canada’s Josh Liendo and Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, and he was only five hundredths behind the time Maxime Grousset swam to win the world title in the event last year.

6. Kate Douglass, Women’s 200 IM, 2:06.79

Of the three victories Kate Douglass posted at Trials, her individual medley win was the most impressive as she became the third swimmer to dip under 2:07 in recent years, joining Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and Canada’s Summer McIntosh. Douglass, the world champion in this event in 2023 and earlier this year, is world-class in three out of four strokes, and she was able to mask her backstroke weakness in this one as she became the fastest American since the polyurethane-suit era and fourth-fastest performer in history.

Douglass was out under world-record pace after butterfly and did not let University of Virginia teammate Alex Walsh move ahead on the backstroke leg. At that point, it was game-over, with Douglass going 36.57 on breaststroke to edge Walsh and crush everyone else in the field, and then she pulled away with a 30.17 split coming home.

7. Katie Ledecky, Women’s 400 Freestyle, 3:58.30

Despite winning four events at Olympic Trials, Katie Ledecky was mostly ambivalent about her performances, going as far as expressing obvious displeasure with her time following her 1500-meter victory. But in the 400 free on the meet’s opening day, Ledecky was brilliant, clocking the fifth-fastest time of her career and quickest in two years as she officially secured her spot on her second Olympic team.

The time of 3:58.30 will surely not be quick enough to defeat either Ariarne Titmus or Summer McIntosh in Paris, and indeed, Titmus has already recorded a mark almost three seconds quicker this year. But this was the fastest swim Ledecky has ever posted at a selection meet, and only the aforementioned big three — Titmus, McIntosh and Ledecky — have ever been quicker.

8. Jack Alexy & Chris Guiliano, Men’s 100 Freestyle, 47.08 (Alexy, Prelims) & 47.25 (Guiliano, Semifinals)

The present and future of American men’s sprinting showed out in Indianapolis, first with Jack Alexy improving upon his status as No. 2 American ever in prelims and then with Chris Guiliano moving to No. 3 on the domestic charts with a 47.25 in the semifinal round. In the final, the two would end up edging Dressel to secure spots in the individual event in Paris.

Both will be major medal contenders at the Games, with Alexy having already reached the podium with a silver behind Kyle Chalmers at last year’s World Championships. A 46-second swim might be necessary to get on the podium given the abilities of Chalmers, Pan Zhanle and David Popovici, but the improvement track for these two swimmers will put them in the mix.

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