U.S. Olympic Trials, Day Two Prelims: Carson Foster Nails Down Top Seed for Final of 400 IM; Olympic Champ Chase Kalisz Lurking

U.S. Olympic Trials, Day Two Prelims: Carson Foster Nails Down Top Seed for Final of 400 IM; Olympic Champ Chase Kalisz Lurking

The last time the United States failed to medal in the men’s 400-meter individual medley at the Olympic Games was 40 years ago, when Los Angeles served as host. Based on that statistic, whoever qualifies to represent Team USA for the upcoming Paris Games will surely be defined as a leading contender to stand on the podium.

Unsurprisingly, Carson Foster positioned himself for one of those slots on Sunday morning.

Contesting the prelims of the 400 medley on the second day of the United States Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Foster led the way into the event’s final behind a time of 4:11.02. Foster entered the meet as the top seed and backed up that status with a comfortable showing, as he built an early lead and cruised through his eight laps. Foster has twice won the silver medal in the event at the World Championships, finishing as the runnerup in 2022 and 2023.

Also advancing to the final was reigning Olympic champion Chase Kalisz, who delivered the second-fastest time of the morning with a swim of 4:13.78. A former world champion and one of the most-accomplished 400 IMers in history, Kalisz is seeking an invitation to his third consecutive Olympics. He was the silver medalist in the 400 medley in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and claimed gold three years ago in Tokyo.

Jay Litherland, who was the silver medalist behind Kalisz at the Tokyo Games, moved into the final as the third seed, thanks to a mark of 4:14.46. He was followed in fourth and fifth by Tommy Bried (4:15.01) and Danny Berlitz (4:15.98). Rounding out the top eight and also advancing to the night session were Ian Grum (4:16.25), Gregg Enoch (4:17.27) and Kyle Ponsler (4:17.35).

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