Erin Gemmell Posts #11 All-Time 15-16 200 Meter Free: 1:58.96

2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS

16 year-old Erin Gemmell  of Nation’s Capital took down her lifetime best time in heat seven of the women’s 200 free during Tuesday’s prelims session of the U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II. She finished 8th overall with a time of 1:58.96.

This time ranks Gemmell #11 out of the all-time fastest 15-16 year-olds in the event. She overtook the age group times of #15 Katie McLaughlin, #13 Katie Hoff, a two-time Olympian, and #12 Dana Vollmer, a three-time Olympian.

Gemmell split the race 57.50/1:01.46, taking out the race .06 faster than Katie Ledecky. Her previous lifetime best was 1:59.28 from this year.

Fellow 16-year-old Bella Sims from Sandpipers of Nevada dropped a 1:59.16 in heat three, establishing herself as #14 out of the all-time fastest 15-16 year-olds in the event.

Sims surpassed #15 Katie McLaughlin now directly behind Katie Hoffs age group time.

Sims also made the semifinals, ranked 10th. She took out the race in 57.81 and came home in 1:01.35. Her previous lifetime best was 2:00.21 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series in January.

In This Story

5
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

5 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Laneline
3 years ago

Excellent swim for young Gemmell. She really has the front end speed and prelim time puts her in middle of pool for racing in semis. Exciting to watch the next generation making their mark. The door has opened for the 4×200 relay after a couple of top 10 seed scratches.

Bobo Gigi
Reply to  Laneline
3 years ago

USA seriously needs new fast young talents in the women’s 200 free if they want to reclaim the gold in the relay in 2024.
Yes I’m already giving the gold to Australia in Tokyo.
And I was told to never doubt about US swimming…. 🙂

Hswimmer
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

Paige, Leah, Melanie, Katie will be way faster come Tokyo Bobo!! Simone also.

Laneline
Reply to  Hswimmer
3 years ago

Why? Please don’t say because they are not rested. Is anyone ever rested? Do you truly believe these ladies are exhausted from training leading into trials? This is a crutch concept and word that deserves way less attention. Top swimmers should be able to knock it out of the park at trials and Tokyo. Look at 400 free – so many went faster a month ago “not rested”. It took 4:04 high to make US Olympic team which is very slow imo. 2021 Trials seems to be a huge opportunity for up and comers to shine while veterans continue to make sure we know all they are “not rested!” or scratch events as they can not manage multiple events.

USA
3 years ago

Is the record 1:55.06 from Franklin in 2011?

About Annika Johnson

Annika Johnson

Annika came into the sport competitively at age eight, following in the footsteps of her twin sister and older brother. The sibling rivalry was further fueled when all three began focusing on distance freestyle, forcing the family to buy two lap counters. Annika is a three-time Futures finalist in the 200 …

Read More »