2023 U.S. Trials Previews: Walsh’s Time To Shine In Women’s 50 Free

2023 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 27 – July 1, 2023
• Indianapolis, IN
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam Preview Index

WOMEN’S 50 FREE – BY THE NUMBERS:

• World Record: 23.67, Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 2017 World Championships
• American Record: 23.97, Simone Manuel – 2017 World Championships
• U.S. Open Record: 24.10, Simone Manuel – 2018 U.S. Nationals
• 2022 U.S. International Team Trials Winner: Torri Huske, 24.50
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 25.04

The women’s 50 freestyle saw a true shootout at the 2022 U.S. International Team Trials. The top four finishers were separated by just five one-hundredths of a second, and the top six were within .25.

We’re trending towards a similar scenario this year, with no clear favorites and a number of elite swimmers in the mix for a berth in Fukuoka.

Last year, Torri Huske placed first at Trials in a time of 24.50. But since the start of 2022, five other Americans have been quicker than that. So who will come out on top?

U.S. Rankings, Women’s 50 Freestyle (LCM)

Since Jan. 1, 2022

1. Erika Brown, 24.38 – 2022 World Championships
2. Abbey Weitzeil / Kate Douglass, 24.40 – 2023 PSS Fort Lauderdale / 2023 Atlanta Classic
3. –
4. Claire Curzan, 24.43 – 2022 PSS Santa Clara
5. Gretchen Walsh, 24.47 – 2022 U.S. Summer Nationals
6. Torri Huske, 24.50 – 2022 International Team Trials
7. Maxine Parker, 24.83 – 2023 NCAP Elite Qualifier
8. Gabi Albiero, 24.89 – 2022 U.S. Summer Nationals
9. Anna Moesch, 24.92 – 2022 YMCA Nationals
10. Natalie Hinds, 24.97 – 2022 International Team Trials

There’s something to be said about coming into such a high-stakes competition with momentum and confidence, and one swimmer who has rediscovered that this year is Abbey Weitzeil.

WEITZEIL WILLS HER WAY BACK INTO CONTENTION

Abbey Weitzeil (photo: Jack Spitser)

Weitzeil had been a mainstay in the 50 free on the international stage for six years when she placed sixth at last year’s Trials, leaving her off the World Championship/Olympic team for the first time since 2013.

Weitzeil repped the U.S. in the 50 free at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, along with the 2017 and 2019 World Championships, but fell short of qualifying last year, and then had coach Teri McKeever put on leave and ultimately fired at Cal, forcing her to hit the reset button.

Despite being older than all five women who finished ahead of her at Trials (and four of the five at least five years younger), Weitzeil came back with a competitive vengeance in 2023. It would be easy to view the 2022 result as a changing of the guard, but Weitzeil has rebounded exceptionally well this year.

The 26-year-old swept the 50 free on the Pro Swim Series, showing impressive consistency from January through late May.

• Knoxville – 24.70 (Jan. 13)
• Fort Lauderdale – 24.40 (March 4)
• Westmont – 24.50 (April 14)
• Mission Viejo – 24.49 (May 20)

Since clocking 24.75 at the 2022 Trials, Weitzeil has either matched or been faster than that in eight straight swims, and appears poised to venture back into 24-low territory in Indianapolis.

Her best time sits at 24.19, set at the Tokyo Olympics, and she was also 24.27 and 24.30 at the Olympic Trials in 2021.

THE COLLEGE CREW

Four of the five swimmers that finished ahead of Weitzeil at the 2022 Trials raced in the NCAA this past season, two Virginia Cavaliers and two Stanford Cardinal.

Gretchen Walsh (photo: Jack Spitser)

The 2023 NCAA title went to Canadian Maggie MacNeil, but a close second was UVA’s Gretchen Walsh, who not only will be the only one of the aforementioned four to race in the NCAA next season, but was also the only one who actually raced the 50 free at the 2023 NCAA Championships.

Walsh swam four of the seven-fastest times ever recorded in the SCY 50 free last season, which came on the heels of missing a spot on the 2022 World Championship team by .01 in Greensboro (24.53) and then winning the event at Summer Nationals in a lifetime best of 24.47.

This season, Walsh nearly reset her personal best time at the NCAP Elite Qualifier in early June, blasting her way to a time of 24.52 to rank third this season among Americans. The only two faster in 2022-23 are Weitzeil and her former University of Virginia teammate, Kate Douglass.

Douglass is a bit of a wildcard in this race—she swam a personal best of 24.40 at the Atlanta Classic in May, and was in the hunt for a spot last year, placing fifth at Trials in 24.67.

However, after she opted for the 50 free over the 200 IM at the NCAA Championships in 2021 and 2022, Douglass raced the medley event this past season. The two events also coincide at Nationals, and the expectation has been that Douglass will opt to focus on the 200 IM, where she’s the reigning Olympic bronze medalist.

If that doesn’t turn out to be the case, Douglass will surely be a factor, as not only is she tied for Weitzeil as the top American this year, but she also owns two of the five swims sub-20.9 in history in the SCY event.

Claire Curzan (photo: Jack Spitser)

And then there’s the Stanford duo of Torri Huske and Claire Curzan.

Huske placed first at the 2022 Trials in 24.50, which came after she had a trio of 24.4 swims in 2021, placing third at the Olympic Trials behind Simone Manuel (24.29) and Weitzeil (24.30) in 24.46.

Curzan’s lifetime best also stems from 2021, having rocketed to a World Junior Record of 24.17 in-season at the TAC Titans Spring Invitational.

Huske and Curzan have had near-identical results in the event of late, with Huske five-one hundredths quicker than Curzan at the 2022 Trials (24.55), and this season the two are only separated by .03: Huske was 25.26 at the Mission Viejo Pro Swim in May, and Curzan was 25.29.

Between the two of them, the slight edge might have to go to Huske, if only because Curzan figures to have a busier schedule at the meet and the 50 free is the last event, but they’ll both be right there with a shot at a top-two spot.

THE WORLD MEDALISTS

Only two American women have won a medal at the World Championships in the 50 free over the last 25 years: Simone Manuel and Erika Brown.

After setting a best time of 24.57 in January 2020, and then matching that at the 2021 Olympic Trials, Brown produced the two fastest swims of her career at the 2022 Trials, first clocking 24.48 in the prelims before touching second behind Huske in the final at 24.52.

Torri Huske, Erika Brown, Claire Curzan, Kate Douglass courtesy World Aquatics

At the World Championships, Brown re-lowered her PB in 24.38 to tie for bronze with Australia’s Meg Harris, and is coming off of earning a trip to the 50 free final at SC Worlds in December.

As one of just five Americans under 25 seconds this season, Brown will once again be a threat to represent the U.S. in the 50 free.

For Manuel, her status as a true contender for a Fukuoka slot is up in the air. She’s now been training at Arizona State for the better part of 10 months, and while the program’s swimmers have experienced a ton of success as of late, we’ve yet to see that come to fruition for Manuel in competition.

However, this will be her first taper meet since moving to Tempe, and she surely can’t be counted out, especially after she found a way to win the 50 free at the 2021 Olympic Trials after an extended layoff due to overtraining syndrome (and having missed the Olympic team earlier in the meet in the 100 free).

The 26-year-old was the 2019 world champion in the event, and in 2017, won the silver medal en route to becoming the only American under 24 seconds.

This season, Manuel has been as fast as 25.18, done in March at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim. In 2021, prior to winning the Olympic Trials in 24.29, she was 24.70 in March. We should expect her to be well under 25 seconds at Trials, but she’ll likely need to get under 24.5 to make the team, something she’s only done once since 2019.

OTHER CONTENDERS

One swimmer who could shake up the established names in the event is Maxine Parker, the rising University of Virginia senior who went three full calendar years between sub-25 swims in the 50 free.

Maxine Parker (photo: Jack Spitser)

Parker won silver (behind future UVA teammate Gretchen Walsh, no less) at the 2019 World Junior Championships in a time of 24.75, and didn’t get back under 25 until last month. Parker clocked 24.94 at the Atlanta Classic, and then put up her second-fastest swim ever at the NCAP Elite Qualifier in early June at 24.83, ranking her fourth among Americans this season.

The other swimmers who have been sub-25 since the beginning of 2022 are Gabi Albiero (24.89), Anna Moesch (24.92) and Natalie Hinds (24.97), while Amy Fulmer, Catie Deloof and Mallory Comerford have all been in the 25.0 range.

Hinds and Albiero finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in last year’s Trials final, while Moesch dropped nearly four-tenths off her lifetime best (25.29 to 24.92) at YMCA Nationals last summer at the age of 16. Moesch missed a portion of the 2022-23 short course season with injury, but was 25.46 in May, so she could easily be back challenging for another sub-25 swim.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Ultimately the battle between the top five or six is going to be extremely tight, and we’re betting on Douglass dropping the 50 free in favor of the 200 IM.

Dark Horse: Erika Pelaez – Pelaez touched first in the junior final at last year’s Trials in a best time of 25.38, lowered it to 25.31 at Summer Nationals in July, and then set another best time at the U.S. Open in December in 25.29. The 16-year-old recently broke 22 seconds for the first time in SCY, and a similar drop in LCM could see her in the ‘A’ final.

See all of our selections for the 2023 U.S. Nationals with the SwimSwam Preview Index here.