U.S. Olympic Trials, Day 8 Prelims: Torri Huske Leads 50 Free Prelims; Kate Douglass Scratches

Torri Huske -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Olympic Trials, Day 8 Prelims: Torri Huske Leads 50 Free Prelims; Kate Douglass Scratches

Having already qualified for the Olympic team in the 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle, Torri Huske owns a strong chance of adding the 50 freestyle to her slate for the Paris Games, which will also include at least two relays. Huske opted to go for the splash-and-dash and to pull out of the women’s 200 IM final, for which she qualified third in Friday’s semifinals.

Huske led the way in the 50 free prelims at 24.47, 16-hundredths short of her season-best time of 24.31 which ranks 10th in the world. Huske touched out Catie DeLoof (24.53) in the final heat. DeLoof nearly qualified for her second Olympic team with a sixth-place finish in the 100 free, but she tied with Erika Connolly and came up just short in an intense swim-off at the conclusion of Thursday’s prelims.

Here, Connolly was just behind DeLoof at 24.55, while a trio of veterans comfortably went through in the next three spots: Abbey Weitzeil (24.56), Simone Manuel (24.58) and Olivia Smoliga (24.70). Weitzeil has posted the quickest 2024 time of any semifinalists, having gone 24.27 in January for seventh in the world.

Gretchen Walsh is heading to her first Olympics after breaking a world record in the 100 butterfly at the start of the meet and taking third in the 50 freestyle. She, too, can excel in the 50, and she went 24.72 in prelims, well short of her season best of 24.29 that ranks No. 8 globally. Walsh’s time was good for the seventh spot in prelims, one hundredth clear of University of Virginia teammate Maxine Parker (24.73). Parker was a member of the World Championships team last year in the 400 free relay, but she struggled in that event here and missed making the semifinals.

Kristin Paegle (24.80) and Grace Cooper (24.91) also broke 25, while the next four spots went to Rylie Erisman (25.01), Annam Olasewere (25.12), Erin Gemmell (25.13) and Brady Kendall (25.13). Amy Fulmer and Gabi Albiero tied for 15th in 25.20, locking Tennessee’s Camille Spink (25.21) out by one hundredth.

Notably, top seed and American-record holder Kate Douglass pulled out of the event, making the opposite decision as Huske and choosing to focus on the 200 IM. Douglass swam a time of 23.91 at February’s World Championships to take silver behind Sarah Sjostrom, but with the racing schedule making the double impossible, she deemed her chances of winning an Olympic medal, perhaps gold, as better in the medley than the sprint.

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