2016 U.S. Olympic Trials: Day One Finals Preview

2016 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS

Tonight marks the first session of semifinals and finals at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Event finals will include the men’s 400 IM, the men’s 400 free, and the women’s 400 IM. Semifinals tonight will be the women’s 100 fly and the men’s 100 breast.

Men’s 400 IM – Finals

Tonight, the men’s 400 IM field is packed, with rising star Chase Kalisz of North Baltimore and defending Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte leading the pack from the middle of the pool. The duo come in separated by just .12 seconds this morning, with Kalisz sitting at 4:11.86 and Lochte at 4:11.98. The winning time from the previous Trials (from Lochte) was a 4:07.06.

We can expect tonight’s race to be a tightly contested final between the two of them.

The field is tightly packed, though, and Dynamo’s University of Georgia leading triplet Jay Litherland showed us a dangerous back half this morning that could slip in between Lochte and Kalisz. Litherland has gone faster than his 4:12.57 from this morning (his personal best is a 4:12.43 from the 2015 FINA World Championships), so he should still have some gas in the tank for tonight.

His Georgia teammate Gunnar Bentz went a personal best time this morning (4:13.67) to take the fourth seed. Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Sean Grieshop has proven that he is in top form, after swimming this morning in a junior world record 4:14.00. While neither should be able to come up to challenge the Kalisz/Lochte duo, they will be fighting for a top placement.

It’s worth noting that eighth seed 2012 Olympian Tyler Clary, sixth seed Josh Prenot and seventh seed Michael Weiss all scratched the final.

Women’s 100 Fly – Semifinals

Ever since it became apparent that Cal Aquatics’ Dana Vollmer was back and in top shape after her post-2012 break from swimming (which included the birth of her first child), the swimming community has been aching for a high pressure showdown between her and NCAA star Kelsi Worrell of Louisville.

And it looks like we’re going to get it.

But, before the final tomorrow, the women will have to make it through semifinals tonight.

While Worrell (56.84) and Vollmer (57.50) are the clear top two (and also the fastest two American women ever to swim the 100 fly, as of today), the remainder of the final is a lot less clear cut.

The only other swimmer under 59 was 16-year-old Nation’s Capital’s Cassidy Bayer with 58.91, but she’s gone even faster in the past. Bayer will swim with Worrell in the second semifinal, taking on Aquazot’s young Eva Merrell, another 16-year-old. Merrell comes into the semis with the 5th-fastest time. The second final also includes Texas A&M’s Sarah Gibson, this year’s NCAA runner-up.

The first semifinal includes Kendyl Stewart, a member of last year’s World Champs squad; Cal’s Katie McLaughlin, who has recovered nicely from a  devastating neck injury earlier this year, NCAA standout Hali Flickinger, and 2012’s Olympic fifth place finisher in the 200 fly Cammile Adams

Men’s 400 Free – Finals

The men’s 400 free final is packed tight with talent; the top six swimmers all finished within a 1.2 second margin this morning.

Taking the middle lane will be Auburn grad Zane Grothe of Badger Swim Club, with 2012 Olympic finalist Conor Dwyer of Trojan and Texas’s 2015 World Championships finalist Michael McBroom on either side. Grothe was 3:45.98 at 2015 U.S. Nationals, and Dwyer holds the fastest time for an American this season with his world eighth-ranked 3:46.09 from the Arena PSS – Santa Clara.

However, the favorite going into the race will be Connor Jaeger out of lane 6, who took fourth at the 2015 Kazan World Championships, where he swam 3:44.81.

Also well within striking distance are Texas NCAA duo Clark Smith of Longhorn Aquatics and Townley Haas of NOVA. Haas is coming off an incredible NCAA collegiate season where he took the American record in the 200 free and came within a second of the record in the 500 free. Though Smith’s NCAA meet was not his best, he went 3:47.10 at U.S. Nationals.

Also in the field will be Gator’s True Sweetser, who swam his best time this morning with 3:48.20, and Mission Viejo’s national high school record-holder Grant Shoults. 

Women’s 400 IM – Finals

This morning, Aggie Swim Club’s 2015 U.S. Nationals runner-up Sarah Henry posted the top time with 4:36.93, followed by her Texas A&M teammate Bethany Galat. 

However, all eyes will be on lanes five and six, 2012 Olympic silver medalist Elizabeth Beisel of Bluefish will take on 2012 World Championships silver medalist Maya DiRado of Stanford. Beisel, looking for her third Olympic Trials victory in this event, has swam a personal best of 4:31.27, while DiRado has gone 4:31.71.

The other swimmer under 4:40 this morning was Cal’s 2012 6th-place Olympic finisher Caitlin Leverenz, who went 4:35.46 at the 2015 Pan Am Games.

Men’s 100 Breast – Semifinals

This morning featured big statement swims from Kevin Cordes of Fox Valley and Cody Miller of Badger, who became the third and fifth fastest American swimmers in history. They will be the clear swimmers-to-beat in finals, while Cordes could chase down the American record tonight or tomorrow. His time this morning was only .09 from Eric Shanteau’s super-suited American mark.

Josh Prenot of Cal and Andrew Wilson of Longhorn tied for the third spot this morning with 59.76. That swim was Prenot’s personal best, while Wilson has been 59.65.

However, perhaps the biggest story of the morning came from the new youngest ever American breaststroker under a minute Michael Andrewwho could prove dangerous in finals tomorrow.

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SwimmerFoxJet
8 years ago

Lochte 4:10? Nooooo

Chase 4:09.54

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SwimmerFoxJet
Reply to  SwimmerFoxJet
8 years ago

Lochte 4:12.03

SwimmerFoxJet
Reply to  SwimmerFoxJet
8 years ago

Heartbroken.

SwimmerFoxJet
Reply to  SwimmerFoxJet
8 years ago

I am speachless, but he did his best. I think.

Rick Carson
8 years ago

Will we be able to watch Breaststroke prelims somewhere?Looks like NBC is switching to gymnastics

mcgillrocks
8 years ago

While being extraordinarily pedantic, I noticed a misleading part: “Last year’s winning time (from Lochte) was a 4:07.06.”

Lochte didn’t go 4:07 at Olympic Trials last year because there were none in 2015. What’s meant is the last time this meet was held, ’12 obviously, Lochte won in that 4:07.

Years of Plain Suck
8 years ago

This morning’s prelims streamed very well: I hope the good signal continues throughout the finals and the rest of the week. I was impressed by the commentary: Sam Kendricks and Chris (the Canadian) were an informative duo. I also liked the articulate comments from Ariana Kukors.

Should be an exciting evening: Lochte looked like he has a lot left, as did Chase in the 400IM. I’m also looking forward to the women’s 400IM — DiRado vs Beisel and the others. Like everyone else, I was thrilled with Michael Andrew’s first sub-minute swim. Hope he continues to drop.

Finally, Stanford’s new assistant men’s swimming coach Jeff Kostoff has got to be excited that two of his incoming freshmen, Shoults and Sweetser,… Read more »

Neil Jones
Reply to  Years of Plain Suck
8 years ago

Announcer Chris Hindmarch-Watson, Vancouver BC Canada. ..

atento
8 years ago

when does the finals start?

About Hannah Hecht

Hannah Hecht

Hannah Hecht grew up in Kansas and spent most of her childhood trying to convince coaches to let her swim backstroke in freestyle sets. She took her passion to Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa and swam at NAIA Nationals all four years. After graduating in 2015, she moved to …

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