2025 U.S. World Trials Previews: Guiliano & Alexy Lead 100 Free With Uncertainty Behind

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• World Championship Selection Criteria

MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE: BY THE NUMBERS

• World Record: 46.40, Pan Zhanle (CHN) – 2024
• American Record: 46.96, Caeleb Dressel – 2019
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Winner: Chris Guiliano, 47.38
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 48.34

With Caeleb Dressel only a few months into his return to the pool after an extended break at the 2023 U.S. Nationals, Jack Alexy and Chris Guiliano claimed the two individual berths in the men’s 100 freestyle at the World Championships in Fukuoka, marking the first time since 2015 that Dressel wasn’t one of the two Americans swimming the event at a major international meet.

That continued last summer, as despite Dressel being back closer to top form, Guiliano won the final at the Olympic Trials in 47.38, with Alexy (47.47) snagging the runner-up spot over Dressel (47.53).

As we head into the 2025 selection meet, there’s not much to suggest it won’t be Alexy and Guiliano at the top of the heap again.

ALEXY, GUILIANO DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THE REST

Since both doing so for the first time in June 2023 at U.S. Nationals, Alexy and Guiliano have been reeling off sub-48 swims at will, putting them a step ahead of the rest of their domestic competitors in the 100 free.

Alexy has broken 48 seconds 12 times in the last 23 months, including winning silver at the 2023 World Championships (47.31) and then blasting a new U.S. Open Record of 47.08 in the prelims of last year’s Olympic Trials.

If there’s one thing we can nitpick about Alexy and his performances in the 100 free last summer, it’s that he ascended his six swims from the prelims of the Olympic Trials to the final of the Olympic Games.

Alexy’s 100 Free Swims – 2024 Olympic Trials to Olympic Games:

• Olympic Trials Prelims – 47.08 (1st)
• Olympic Trials Semis – 47.33 (2nd)
• Olympic Trials Final – 47.47 (2nd)
• Olympic Prelims – 47.57 (1st)
• Olympic Semis – 47.68 (6th)
• Olympic Final – 47.96 (7th)

Jack Alexy (photo: Jack Spitser)

Looking back at the 2023 U.S. Nationals, Alexy was also faster in the prelims (47.75) than in the final (47.93), though that didn’t present itself at Worlds that year when he was the silver medalist.

That trend might be something to keep an eye on when we get to the World Championships, but for the purposes of U.S. Nationals, Alexy’s consistent ability to churn out 47s makes him one of the favorites to earn a top-two finish and an individual berth.

Going back to 2023, Guiliano was a bigger surprise than Alexy to finish in the top-two of the 100 free at Nationals, as he snagged the second Worlds spot from Lane 1 after he was the only swimmer in the ‘A’ final to drop time from the prelims, cracking 48 seconds for the first time in 47.98.

He’s been sub-48 seven more times since then, setting a personal best of 47.25 in the Olympic Trials semis last year before winning the final.

Alexy and Guiliano both made the Olympic final last summer, and though they placed 7th and 8th in a stacked field, that should give them an added level of confidence as they head into this summer.

THE OLYMPIC RELAY

In last summer’s Olympic Trials final, Dressel was a close 3rd, just six one-hundredths back of Alexy in 47.53, while Hunter Armstrong (47.78) grabbed the last automatic relay spot and Ryan Held (47.82) and Matt King (47.94) earned top-six finishes that eventually got them named to the Olympic team in the 4×100 free relay.

Caeleb Dressel (photo: Jack Spitser)

Amongst that group, King is the only one looking like a favorite to be in the 100 free final in Indianapolis.

Dressel, though he did make his 2025 debut in Fort Lauderdale, did not race any 100-meter events, so it’s possible he’ll only target the 50 free and 50 fly this summer.

Held also has not raced the 100 free in long course yet this season, while King (49.35) has been solid and Armstrong has only been 50.62.

In addition to his 49.3 swim from earlier this month, King has plenty of reason for optimism after he set a SCY best time of 41.14 at the NCAA Championships in March, and now that he has three sub-48 swims under his belt, it’s easy to see him getting back into that range in Indy.

Armstrong was recently open about his financial difficulties and that he almost had to walk away from the sport, so his form is a bit of a question mark for Nationals.

Held has always been right there in the final of selection meets dating back to 2016, but his lack of activity recently puts this year in question.

THE OTHER SUB-47S

Three other swimmers who figure to be in the battle in Indianapolis have a sub-48 swim on their resume: Indiana veteran Blake Pieroni, and Cal training partners Brooks Curry and Destin Lasco.

Curry is in an intriguing position and would have to be considered the leading candidate to crack the U.S. relay this year among swimmers who weren’t in the 2024 Olympic Trials final.

Brooks Curry (photo: Jack Spitser)

After breaking through and making the Tokyo Olympic team in the 4×100 free relay, Curry represented the U.S. in the 100 free at the 2022 World Championships, setting a new best time in the semis (47.90) before placing 5th in the final.

After missing the 2023 Worlds team, Curry made the move to train at Cal following his NCAA career at LSU.

For the second straight selection meet, Curry missed the ‘A’ final of the 100 free at the 2024 Olympic Trials, though he did punch his ticket to a second straight Olympics in the 4×200 free relay after setting a PB of 1:45.89 in the Trials final.

In the 100 free, Curry posted his fastest time in nearly two years at the Sacramento Pro Swim in April, clocking 48.30 for his fastest ever in-season and a time nearly three-tenths quicker than his 2024 best of 48.59.

Now 24, Curry will likely need to be back under 48 if he has a chance of cracking the U.S. roster in this event, but that seems very possible after what we saw last month.

Lasco, known for his backstroke and 200 IM prowess in the NCAA, has always been relied upon by the Golden Bears to provide clutch freestyle splits on relays in short course yards, and he carried that over into the long course pool at the 2023 Nationals, unleashing a big best time of 47.87 in the 100 free prelims before placing 4th in the final (48.00) and making the Worlds team in the relay.

Lasco got back under the 48-second barrier last summer, clocking 47.90 in the semis at the Olympic Trials before placing 7th in the final (48.14), narrowly missing an Olympic berth.

The 23-year-old recently wrapped up his NCAA career at Cal, and hasn’t raced yet this long course season, putting his status for Nationals up in the air. If he’s there, he’s a relay contender no doubt.

Pieroni, 29, briefly retired from the sport in 2022 but has come back with a newfound hunger, and though he didn’t make the Olympic Trials final last year in the 100, placing 13th in the semis after posting a season-best of 48.52 in the prelims, he did in the 200, placing 6th and earning a berth on his third straight Olympic team.

He has represented the U.S. individually in the 100 free on the big stage in the past, placing 4th at the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, where he set his best time of 47.87 in the semi-finals.

However, Pieroni has only raced the 50 free in LCM this year, so how seriously he’s training, or if he’ll even enter the 100 free, is unclear at this point.

LOOKING TO BREAK THROUGH

Every swimmer mentioned so far has represented the U.S. in the 4×100 free relay at either the Olympics or World Championships, and while there’s a good chance this year’s team is made up of that group, there are several other names chomping at the bit to take the next step and earn a relay berth in Singapore.

That list includes some swimmers coming off NCAA seasons, such as Arizona State’s Patrick Sammon and Jonny Kulow, Stanford’s Henry McFadden, NC State’s Quintin McCarty, and maybe even Texas’ Luke Hobson.

Johnny Kulow (photo: Jack Spitser)

Sammon set a personal best of 48.18 last year at the Olympic Trials in the prelims before placing 9th in the semis (48.29), while Kulow’s PB stood at 48.38 from the 2023 Pan Am Games, where he tied for silver with Curry, before he clocked 48.35 in the prelims last weekend at the Sun Devil Open. At last year’s Trials, Kulow placed 10th in 48.50.

McFadden was 14th at the Olympic Trials after setting a lifetime best of 48.59 in the heats, while McCarty was 18th in a PB of 48.95 and Hobson was 20th in 48.98.

Kulow was the top performer amongst this group at the 2025 NCAA Championships, placing 6th in the 100 free with a prelim best time of 40.83, while Hobson (41.31) and Sammon (41.36) set new PBs in the consolation final.

McCarty set a new SCY best time of his own at the ACC Championships in February (41.45), and has already been 49.54 in long course so far this season, while Hobson has been 49.09.

Another name on the radar in this event is Shaine Casas, who trains with Hobson at Texas and has been taking on the 100 free with more regularity so far this season, winning it at the Westmont (48.31) and Fort Lauderdale (48.47) Pro Swim meets and adding two more 48-point swims last weekend at the Longhorn Elite Invite (48.64/48.88).

Youngster Maximus Williamson was expected to be a threat to make the Olympic team last summer in the relay after he dropped a time of 48.38 in September 2023 at the World Junior Championships, and though he tied for 29th at the Trials (49.41), he’s been impressive in recent months. The now 18-year-old set a short course best time of 41.54 in February and then went 49.31 at the Sacramento Pro Swim in April, quicker than he was at last year’s Olympic Trials.

In addition to Hobson, other swimmers who tend to specialize in the 200 free but could be in the hunt in the 100 include Kieran Smith, who went 48.46 last year to make the semis at the Olympic Trials, and Grant House, who set a best time of 48.50 at the Westmont Pro Swim in March.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Dark Horse: Jerry Fox – Coming off setting best times in the 50 (22.45) and 100 free (49.02) at the Olympic Trials last summer, Fox had a successful sophomore campaign at NC State in 2024-25, setting new PBs (18.83/41.65) in both distances while throwing down a pair of 40-point relay splits for the Wolfpack. After coming within three-tenths of a second swim in the 100 free last year in Indianapolis, the 19-year-old is on track to break into 48-second territory which puts him in the hunt for a top finish.