2022 U.S. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS
- April 26-30, 2022
- Greensboro, NC
- Greensboro Aquatic Center
- LCM (50m)
- Start Times: Prelims – 9 am ET / Finals – 6 pm ET
- Worlds Qualifying Criteria
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- SwimSwam Pick ‘Em Contest
- How To Watch
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
We’ve reached the halfway point of the 2022 US World Championships Trials and the exciting swims just keep on rolling. Day 3 of the meet featured three new American records from Michael Andrew in the 50 breast, Katharine Berkoff in the 50 back, and Hunter Armstrong in world record fashion in the 50 back. In addition to those records, we saw some impressive performances in the 400 IMs.
While Olympic medalists Chase Kalisz and Emma Weyant made it into the top 2, both Carson Foster and Katie Grimes booked their senior international IM debuts.
Foster Gets It Done
In the wake of his third place finish in the 400 IM at Trials in 2021, Carson Foster proved his worth with a mid-summer 4:08.46. Fast forward to 2022, however, and Carson Foster has officially qualified for his first long course senior international team in the 400 IM. He swam to victory in the final and beat the reigning Olympic Champion Chase Kalisz on his way to a 4:09.33. It wasn’t a PB but it was enough to gain entry into the event this summer.
Foster had already qualified for the team in the 4×200 freestyle relay after when he finished third in 200 free on day 2. But even after getting on the plane for a relay, all eyes were on him in the 400 IM.
Foster and Kalisz were even at the 100 mark, splitting a 56.54 and 56.52, respectively, but by halfway Foster had established the lead by more than a second. Kalisz closed the gap a bit during the breaststroke leg, but in the end, Foster managed to hold off the field and place first. Bobby Finke put up a decent fight for a top-two finish, splitting a massive 27.42 on the final 50. He nearly caught Kalisz who closed in a 29.66, but Foster was out of range and claimed victory by more than a second.
This breakthrough swim from Foster was a significant step forward and considering that it’s the third-fastest time in the world this year, puts him in the running for a podium finish in Budapest.
Katie Grimes Bounces Back
Another big swim tonight came from Katie Grimes in the 400 IM. Grimes started her meet by just missing out on qualifying for Worlds in the 800 freestyle when she placed 4th with an 8:22.73. The next day, she didn’t get on the team in the 200 freestyle or 4×200 freestyle by placing 8th in the 200 freestyle with a 1:58.22.
But on day 3 of the meet, Grimes had what it took to break onto the 400 IM scene and out-swim the field with an event-winning 4:36.17. That swim from Grimes was more than 5 seconds faster than her PB prior to this meet and was a clear demonstration of her multi-event capabilities.
Grimes is an Olympic finalist in the 400 freestyle, a national teamer in the open water, and now she has added national champion IMer to her resume. A 4:36 is the 3rd-fastest time in the world this year and would have been good enough for 6th overall in Tokyo.
While she’s only 1-for-3 in her events so far, Grimes’ day 3 performance indicated that she still has some gas left in the tank for the remainder of the meet. On day 4 she will bid for a top 2 finish in the 400 freestyle as the 10th seed, but on day 6 all she needs to do is keep her seed and she’ll place second in the 1500 freestyle to Katie Ledecky.
All in all, it was a good night for Foster, Grimes, and the near-future of American 400 IM.
Proof once again that the 400 IM is a young person’s game.
Chase had to struggle to get out of the pool and then sat down on the pool deck after clearing the blocks area.
I’m super impressed with his moxie to even keep the 400 IM at age 28. Even the great Phelps chose to drop the 400 IM around that age.
That being said, it is going to be pretty tough for him to make the 2024 Olympics in this event. Carson and Finke look awfully dangerous going forward.