INDIANAPOLIS — Carson Foster is heading to the Olympics for the first time, knocking off defending gold medalist Chase Kalisz in the final of the 400-meter individual medley at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Sunday night.
Kalisz should get a chance to defend his gold in Paris, taking the runner-up spot to claim the expected second spot on the American team.
Jay Litherland, the 400 IM silver medalist in Tokyo, missed out on his third Olympics with a third-place showing.
The 22-year-old Foster, a native of Cincinnati who swims for the University of Texas, led the entire race to finish in 4 minutes, 7.64 seconds.
Kalisz closed to within a tenth of a second on the breaststroke leg, but the 30-year-old simply didn't have enough in the tank to keep up with the younger Foster. The winner pulled away on the freestyle, with Kalisz touching in 4:09.39.
Litherland faded badly at the end for a time of 4:12.34.
