INDIANAPOLIS — Five things to watch at swimming’s U.S. Olympic Trials, which open Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium and run through June 23.
The event selects a team for the Paris Olympics, which run from July 26-Aug. 11.
Pool in a football stadium
Greatest glory of this event occurred before any swimmer got in the water. It was construction of a 10-lane, 50-meter pool inside a football stadium, plus a warmup area that is even larger,
There are 2 million gallons of water, pumped in from the White River. A 35,000-pound LED scoreboard hangs from the ceiling, and a 70-foot tower “blocks walk” will show images of swimmers as they are introduced.
Tim Hinchey III, CEO of USA Swimming, sought a bigger venue after four trials in a 14,000-seat arena at Omaha, Neb. He said the investment is worth it to elevate the sport’s profile and increase the organization’s membership ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I think this will make people care about swimming,” Hinchey said. “We always have a bump after the Olympics. I want to make this a bump all the way to ’28.”
Hoosiers aiming for Paris
Swimmers with Indiana ties will be in the mix on each of nine nights.
Most celebrated among them is Evansville native Lilly King, an Indiana University graduate who memorably won Olympic gold in the 100-meter breaststroke in 2016. She was off the podium in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at the 2023 World Championships. King, 27, will be in a fight to make the U.S. team.
Others from the 2021 Olympics – Drew Kibler, Jake Mitchell, Blake Pieroni, Michael Brinegar – are in the mix for 2024. So, too, are teens Kayla Han, 16; Alex Shackell, 17; Luke Whitlock, 18, and Aaron Shackell, 19.
Familiar favorites
Katie Ledecky has been so great for so long, it is easy to forget she is just 27. She has seven Olympic gold medals and 21 World Championship golds, most ever by a female swimmer.
She will aim for the Olympics in the 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyles, and inevitably will be part of a 4x200 freestyle relay team.
Otherwise, America’s most high-profile swimmers, Simone Manuel and Caeleb Dressel, also 27, are in the midst of promising comebacks.
Regan Smith, 22, recently lowered the American record in the 100 backstroke, breaking her record from 2019. Ryan Murphy, 28, Olympic champion in both backstrokes in 2016, won gold in the 100 at 2023 worlds and could repeat that in Paris. Bobby Finke, 24, won golds in 800 and 1,500 freestyles at Tokyo.
A potential superstar is Gretchen Walsh, 21, of the University of Virginia. She is coming off one of the best college seasons ever, winning three individual events in record times at the NCAA Championships.
These women can fly
It is a long-held maxim in American swimming – not always true – that it is harder to make the team than it is to win a medal at an Olympics.
In the women’s 100 butterfly, in 2024, it might be true.
Taking times from the past two years, five of the world’s fastest nine are Americans: Torri Huske, Walsh, Smith, Claire Curzan, Kate Douglass.
Not that golds, or any medals, are guaranteed. At World Championships, Huske took bronze in July 2023 and Curzan silver in February 2024.
And if any of those above falter, joining the mix could be two Carmel swimmers: Kelly Pash and Alex Shackell, who finished fifth and sixth in last year’s USA Championships.
In the 100 butterfly, prelims and semifinals are Saturday and the final Sunday night.
RELATED: Here's the order of events for prelims and finals at the 2024 Olympic Swim Trials in Indianapolis
Swimmers of all ages
Those qualifying for the trials include swimmers from ages 13 to 46. Then there is Matt Grevers, 39, who qualified for his seventh trials.
The 13-year-old is Gabi Brito of Beach Cities Swimming (Calif.). Her recent time of 25.42 in the 50 freestyle made the cut of 25.69, and she broke the record of 25.80 for 13-year-olds set by Douglass in 2015.
Gabrielle Rose, 46, made cuts in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes. She made the U.S. team at Indianapolis in 2000 and finished seventh in the 200 individual medley at the Sydney Olympics.
Grevers’ first trials were as a 15-year-old at Indianapolis in 2000. He made the 2024 cut by clocking 22.50 in the 50 freestyle, his fastest time in the event since December 2015. He has six Olympic medals, including 2012 gold in the 100 backstroke.
Contact WTHR correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.