2025 US World Trials Preview: Is it Cavalier to Say A. Walsh, Douglass are 2 IM Locks? Maybe

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

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

WOMEN’S 200 IM: BY THE NUMBERS

• World Record: 2:06.12 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2015)
• American Record: 2:06.15 – Ariana Kukors (2009)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:06.79 – Kate Douglass, USA (2024)
• 2024 Olympic Trials Winner: Kate Douglass – 2:06.79
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 2:12.83

Last year, the preview for this event was all about Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass, and rightly so, as the pair each medaled in the event in Tokyo and had, in the intervening years, dominated it. After Tokyo, Walsh improved upon her Olympic silver by setting a new US Open record to qualify for and eventually become the champion at the 2022 World Championships.

Her chance to defend her title at the 2023 World Champs was disrupted by Kate Douglass‘s return to the event. After not participating in the event in 2022, Douglass smashed the US Open record by .80, setting a mark of 2:07.09. The pair reunited again on the international stage in Fukuoka with the elder of the two, Douglass, using a strong last 50 to deny her training partner the back-to-back World Champion title, as she took golf in 2:07.07, with Walsh collecting the silver in 2:07.74.

In the lead-up to the Olympic Trials, Douglass claimed the back-to-back World Champion title as she set a new PB of 2:07.05 at the 2024 Doha Worlds. She wasn’t the only one to make moves as Walsh swam 2:07.63 at the Knoxville Pro Swim Series in January of 2024, a new in-season personal best, and carried that momentum to the NCAAs, where she became just the second woman in history under the 1:50 barrier, joining Douglass, her training partner. In fact, the pair of Virginia teammates had been the only two swimmers from 2021 to 2024 to win the title at NCAAs.

Alex Walsh Kate Douglass (photo: Jack Spitser)

At Trials, Douglass had already qualified for the team by winning the 100 free and 200 breaststroke, but Walsh finished 6th in the 100 breast and, despite setting a PB of 2:22.38 in the 200, finished 3rd. This meant her last chance rested in the IM, and it showed as she qualified first into the semifinals, swam a swift 2:08.74 in the semis, and went 2:07.86, faster than she was at Worlds the previous year, to qualify for her second Olympics.

Douglass, having already made the team, was free to let the horses out and exploded to a new personal best and US Open record of 2:06.79, the third time in three years that the pair had reset it at a selection meet.

The pair, the owners of the last three World titles, headed to Paris as favorites to medal. Walsh led the field out of semis with a 2:07.45, with Douglass 3rd best at 2:08.59. However, the pair repeating on the podium was not to be as Walsh, despite touching the wall in 2:07.06 (a new best) behind Douglass’s silver medal-winning performance of 2:06.96, was DQed for an illegal back-to-breast turn.

“Counting Stars”

With just the one event on her schedule, Walsh exited Paris with no medals and returned stateside to undergo a meniscus surgery that took her out of the first semester of her last season of swimming for UVA. Walsh made her return to competition, representing the United States at the 2024 Short Course Worlds in Budapest, the same pool where she won her three gold medals at the 2022 Worlds.

Walsh appeared not to have skipped a beat, not letting the surgery or disappointment from the summer hold her back as she claimed an individual bronze in the 200 breast and a silver in the 200 IM. Her time of 2:02.65 was not only a new personal best but made her the 3rd fastest performer in history, placing behind only Katinka Hosszu and who else besides Douglass, who became the fastest performer in the event, going 2:01.63.

Not to be left out of the World Record party, Walsh teamed with future teammate Katie Grimes, former UVA teammate Paige Madden, and Claire Weinstein to break the World Record in the 4×200 free relay, with Walsh leading off in a new PB of 1:53.25.

From the high of collecting a total of six medals, Walsh jumped into NCAA swimming, setting new PBs in the 50 and 100s of fly and breast in the lead-up to NCAAs. UVA, the presumptive favorite to win its fifth title in a row, saw Walsh start her individual campaign in the 200 IM, an event which she won in 2021, 2022, and 2024. However, Walsh ran into Olympic hero Torri Huske and was unable to return to her best form as Huske won by nearly half a second.

Since NCAAs, which were a bit of a mixed bag (she did win the 100 breaststroke title in a new PB)  for the now professional swimmer, Walsh has competed at one long course meet, heading to Fort Lauderdale in early May. Much like in yards, Walsh’s 50 breast was a PB, perhaps signaling the continuing shift toward the breaststroke events. Walsh did swim the 200 IM, posting the only sub-2:10 time, as she won in 2:08.84, a time right in the middle of where she had been the past two years. In 2023, her lead-up to the Trials season best was 2:09.61, while last year, as it was an Olympic year, she had many more opportunities to race the event and was 2:07.99 at an NCAP meet in early June.

Walsh is the #2 seed in the entry lists courtesy of her 2:07.45 from the Olympics and is entered in three other events: the 200 breast (#2), the 50 breast (#6), and the 100 breast (#4). At trials, the 200 IM is contested on the final day, while in Singapore, it is scheduled on the first day but has no overlap with any of her other events, meaning she will not have the prospects of a tough double, something her two closest rivals do

“My Head & My Heart”

Kate Douglass, the fastest ever in the event across both yards and short course meters, an Olympic bronze and silver medalist, and the two-time defending World Champion enters Trials with a question mark swirling over her participation in the event.

Word across the pool decks was that Douglass was contemplating not swimming the event at Trials. It wouldn’t be that unusual as she eschewed the event in 2022, but perhaps with the 2026 Pan-Pacs team selection being based upon performances from this meet, Douglass may have had a change of heart. It is not as if she doesn’t have good reason to; the New York native is entered in seven events across the five-day meet, and she is the American record holder in the 50 freestyle, which is scheduled at Trials one event later. She is also scheduled to swim the 100 free and 100 breast at Trials, two events with relay implications. While these two don’t interfere at Trials, the 4×100 free relay finals are in the same session as the 200 IM semis, and the 100 breast prelims and semis are on the same day as the 200 IM finals.

Oh, to be that versatile of a swimmer.

The Olympic champion in the 200 breaststroke isn’t alone in this quandary, however. Huske, the Olympic champion in the 100 fly, faces perhaps an even tougher schedule.

Huske is entered to swim the 50/100/200 free as well as the 50/100 fly. Like Douglass, she is a top 8 seed in all events, and as the #2 seed in the 50 free, runs into the same double at Trials. At Worlds, the 100 fly and 200 IM events mirror one another, with the heat and semis taking place on Day 1, which coincides with the 4×100 free relay.

Douglass, as mentioned above, had an outstanding post-Olympic fall. In the lead-up to Worlds, she won every event she swam on in the World Cup Series, breaking records left and right. In Budapest, in addition to the aforementioned 200 IM World Record, she re-broke her own WR in the 200 breast. She claimed an additional two gold medals and World Records as part of the 4×100 free and medley relays, collecting a total of seven medals.

Torri Huske (photo: Jack Spitser)

In her more recent results, Douglass has preferred to swim the 50 free (she won silver in the event in Budapest) over the 200 IM, as she did not swim the IM at either of the Pro Swim Series events she participated in. In Westmont, she was victorious in both the 50 free (24.62) and 100 breast (1:06.51), while in Fort Lauderdale, she placed 4th in the 50 free (24.72) and 3rd in the 100 breast (1:06.76).

While a lack of swims in a Post-Olympic year isn’t unusual, her focus on the breaststroke events may imply her moving away from the IM.

Huske, on the other hand, has been giving more mixed signals about her participation in the event. She withdrew from the event at Olympic Trials after placing 3rd in the semifinals (2:09.43). However, at NCAAs, she opted to scratch out of the 50 free, opting to swim the 200 IM. As mentioned above, the choice worked out as she claimed her first individual NCAA title, becoming the 3rd fastest performer ever.

Huske, a six-time Olympic medalist, made her return, like Walsh, to long-course swimming at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series, where she took 2nd place in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 fly, all of which over the next few months could conflict with the 200 IM. She, like Douglass, avoided the 200 IM, which may point to her intentions to not swim the race at Trials, but she did win the event at the recent Sun Devil Open, going 2:11.57 to out-duel her Stanford and fellow individual NCAA champion teammates Caroline Bricker and Lucy Bell.

Huske’s PB of 2:08.47 from last year’s San Antonio Pro Swim Series meet could threaten both Walsh and Douglass, but with the severity of the conflicts, it seems much more unlikely that she swims the event than Douglass does.

“High Hopes”

With Douglass and Walsh being the only two active Americans with PBs under 2:08, if both swim, then, barring DQ it’ll be highly unlikely that anyone will be able to break through and claim a spot on the Worlds roster in this event. However, with this meet serving as the selection meets for the World University Games and Junior Worlds, competition for a spot in the final will be intense If it turns out that both Douglass and Huske, the 3rd fastest active American, decline to swim the event then expect it to be a bloodbath for the spot behind Walsh.

The most obvious candidates to fill that position on paper are Leah Hayes and Isabel Ivey. Hayes launched herself into the swimming world in 2022 as she took full advantage of Douglass’s absence from the event. Qualifying second behind Walsh, Hayes, who was still a sophomore in high school, swam three successive sub 2:10s at the 2022 Worlds to claim the bronze medal in a time of 2:08.91.

The 11th fastest American of all time and 6th amongst current swimmers, Hayes was unable to match that speed in 2023, placing 4th at Trials in 2:10.42. While she didn’t earn a berth to Fukuoka, she did travel to the 2023 Junior Worlds, where she collected three gold medals, including one in the 200 IM (2:10.24).

While always near the top of the domestic talent in the event, Hayes has been slowly creeping down the field, as she finished 5th at the Olympic Trials, with a time of 2:11.81. This past season, Hayes made the move to college and joined Walsh in Charlottesville. The Illinois native qualified for her first NCAA in three events and scored in both the IMs, placing 9th in the 200 (1:53.71), less than quarter of a second off her PB.

With a strong yards season and nearing personal best, Hayes, like the rest of the UVA squad, headed to Florida for the last Pro Swim Series, where she claimed 3rd in the 200 IM, going 2:11.52, faster than she was in the finals of Trials. She additionally recorded new PBs in all of the breaststrokes, so Hayes may be poised to get back under the 2:10 barrier for the first time since 2022.

Isabel Ivey (photo: Jack Spitser)

Moving somewhat conversely to Hayes in Isabel Ivey. Ivey initially swam collegiately for Cal and was more of a freestyler, having made the semifinals of the 200 free at the 2021 Olympic Trials. After transferring to Florida, Ivey has started to develop her IM more. In 2023 at Trials she tied for 8th in prelims, going 2:14.23. After placing 2nd in the event at the 2024 NCAA in a PB of 1:51.96, Ivey headed into trials as the 8th seed with an entry of 2:12.56. She navigated her way through prelims and, by .07, avoided a tie for 8th to qualify for her first Olympic Trials final. Swimming out of Lane 1, being bumped up one by Huske’s withdrawal, the Florida Gator was tied for last at the 1st 50 and had only moved up two spots to sit 5th after the breaststroke, but dropping the only sub-30 last 50 in the field, she stormed into 3rd place in a new massive PB of 2:10.09.

Since then, having used up her eligibility, Ivey took the fall off but returned to competition in the new year. She was 2:14 in February at the Southern Zone Sectionals and dropped that down to 2:12.67 to take 3rd at Westmont. She didn’t participate in the event in Fort Lauderdale; instead, she came within a second of her PB in the 200 free, hitting the wall at 1:58.75 (8th). The fourth seed entering this year’s trials, Ivey did swim the event in mid-May at the FAST May Invite to record a new season best of 2:12.52, a time which, before Trials, would have been a PB.

Ivey won’t be the lone Gator competing for a spot in the A-final. Having a breakout meet at Trials, Zoe Dixon went from the 25th seed with an entry time of 2:14.37 to earn a spot in the finals, courtesy of her 2:11.64 PB in the semifinals. While she added a few tenths in the final, she finished 6th overall in 2:12.01. The 9th seed this year, Dixon won’t be hiding in the early heats and will be right in the mix things.

Much like in the 400 IM, the 200 IM sees a UVA-Florida-Stanford dominance in the event. Huske wasn’t the lone Stanford swimmer to qualify for the final at Trials. Lucy Bell, the 14th seed entering Trials, fought her way into the final. Like Dixon, Bricker was having a breakout summer. She qualified for the finals in three events, having earlier in the week placed 8th in the final of 200 fly and 6th in the 400 IM. In the semifinals, she moved up from 12th to place 7th into the final with a PB of 2:12.23. Again, like Dixon, she added some time in finals, finishing 8th, but whereas Dixon struggled to emulate that form at NCAA, Bell didn’t.

A strong reason as to why Stanford finished runner-up to UVA, Bell claimed 6th in the final of the 200 IM, swimming a new PB of 1:52.47, her worst performance of the meet as she earned bronze in the 400 IM and claimed the title in the 200 breast finals. The Colorado native has not let off the gas as she continued this trend of PBs. At the Sun Devil Open she reset her best to an even 2:12.00.

Her fellow Cardinal, Caroline Bricker, too, had strong Trials in 2024, swimming PB in the 100 and 200 fly, but dropped a few spots in the 200 IM, going from 13th (2:13.18) to 17th (2:15.34). However, her trajectory since then has been off the charts. At the 2024 NCAAs, Bricker placed 4th in the 400 IM (4:02.14) and 10th in the 200 IM (1:53.87), but 12 months later, she won the 400 IM in 3:57.36, placed 5th in the 200 IM (1:52.01) and 3rd in the 200 fly (1:51.55), all of which were new PBs (not to mention the 1:41.73 lead-off PB in the 4×200 free relay).

Bricker made the trip to Florida for the last Pro Swim, recording a new PB of 2:12.99, but that time didn’t last long as two weeks later, she dropped over a second to record a time of 2:11.90. The Cardinal pair are dangerous seeded outside of the top eight, and with no semis, Bricker (#10) and Bell (#11) could based on their recent success usurp some of those ahead of them.

“When We Were Young”/”Teenage Dream”

Beata Nelson (photo: Jack Spitser)

The remaining unmentioned top 8 seeds are on opposite ends of the spectrum, age-wise. The #5 seed, Beata Nelson, is 26 years old, while Audrey Derivaux, the 7th seed, is just 15. Nelson, a Wisconsin graduate, had strong Trials, making the finals of all of her events and placing 4th in the IM with a personal best time of 2:10.38. She also finished 6th in the 100 fly (57.80) and finished 8th in the 100 free (54.00). One of the best short-course swimmers, Nelson has not raced the event since Trials. She spent some time in the fall in Asia on the World Cup Circuit but did not race at Worlds as the roster was selected from the US Olympic Trials results.

This year, she has seemingly focused on the 50 fly and 100 free, where she is the 3rd and 6th seed, respectively. She appears to be leaning into those events as they likely offer better chances for her to be named to the roster.

Derivaux, too, is in a similar position. The only World Junior eligible swimmer amongst the top 16, the New Jersey native may have a better chance of making the trip to Singapore in the 200s back and fly where she is the 4th seed.

This event may be the one event in which the then 14-year-old did not have a strong swim last year, as they placed 23rd in a 2:16.05. However, that may have only motivated her to do better, as she was 2:13.67 at Junior Pan Pacs and then in the new year 2:11.53 at the Indianapolis Sectionals. In a strong field in Fort Lauderdale, she held her own and placed 6th in 2:13.24.

Whereas the two above may have better chances elsewhere, Teagan O’Dell, the 8th seed may see this event as her best chance. O’Dell didn’t swim the event at Trials last summer but made the finals of the 200 back, placing 8th (she is not entered in the event this year). The Cal commit did swim the event Pan-Pacs, however, winning the title in a two-second new PB of 2:11.57. She has spent much of this season focussing on yards and set a new PB of 1:52.61, which would have qualified 5th into the final at NCAAs.

“Thinking Out Loud”

In making this preview, its unpredictability was, for lack of a better word, annoying.

As the race is on the last day, you may see some other swimmers drop out if they are having really good or really bad meets, so those who remain will certainly be in for a chance. Between Hayes and Ivey, Hayes may be turning the corner and getting back to her best, but Ivey has looked strong this season. That said, the meteoric rise of Derivaux, Bell, and Bricker may continue and leapfrog past them.

There are so many swimmers who could be mentioned and could make the A-final.  The #12 seed, Campbell Chase, finished 10th last year with a time of 2:13.06, a new PB. In the intervening 12 months, she has gone from a yards PB of 1:56.80 to 1:53.89; just last month, she dropped a new PB of 2:12.53, finishing 2nd behind Regan Smith and could drop more.

But in hindsight, and in the process of writing the article, I’ve come to kind of really anticipate the event. Do I think the Huske will swim the event? Unlikely, as A) there are no semifinals of events at Trials so she can’t really cruise in the morning and save up too much for the 50 and B) while she had a great yards swim, the lack of turns and underwater may expose her breaststroke, (although she has been consistently swimming it at meets).

Douglass is a bigger question mark. While she is the American record holder in the 50 free, she is seeded 6th behind Gretchen Walsh and Huske, so she isn’t a shoo-in for the event.

If they both swim, then expect a strong three-race, especially as the US record has fallen at the last three trial meets. If they both opt-out, then the race is Walsh’s to lose, but the possibilities are wide open for second place.

All of this is really just a warning that whatever you expect or select for your pick ’em, they very well could change. As such, if Huske swims, we expect her to place 3rd, but with it seemingly unlikely, we have not included her in the picks.

 SwimSwam’s Picks

Dark Horse:  Bella Sims – With so much uncertainty in the event, any number of swimmers could find their way into the final. 4th place finisher at NCAAs, Phoebe Bacon, could easily be in contention for the final. She was the 6th seed entering the 2024 Trials but scratched after qualifying in the 200 back. This go-around, she is the 16th seed and will have many swimmers to pass. Bella Sims, who also did not swim in this event last year, is the 13th seed. After announcing her intentions to leave Florida, Sims, who eventually committed to Michigan, has twice swum the event, going 2:16.46 in April at a meet in Las Vegas and then in Fort Lauderdale at 2:13.57 to place 7th. The 5th seed last year with a PB of 2:12.15, Sims is the ultimate Dark Horse, as her intentions for the meet are a complete unknown.