2024 Paris Olympian for the US Luke Whitlock will return to his club team, Fishers Area Swimming Tigers to train during the spring semester. Whitlock arrived at Florida this fall for his freshman season.
“I have decide that I will be training at Fishers for the second semester of this year and through next summer and my focus will be to try to make the long course worlds team this summer”
Whitlock originally committed to Louisville before flipping his commitment to Florida before the start of his senior year of high school. He saw huge improvement during his senior year, leading the class of 2024 in the 1000 and 1650 freestyles. He entered this fall as the #8 ranked recruit in the class.
In addition to his short course improvement, Whitlock also had a huge summer highlighted by making the US Olympic Team. Whitlock swam to a 2nd place finish at US Trials in the 800 freestyle, finishing behind Bobby Finke in a new 17-18 NAG Record. Whitlock also became the youngest male to make the US Olympic roster since Michael Phelps at the time.
Whitlock swam to a 15th place finish in prelims of the men’s 800 free in Paris as he touched in a 7:49.26. His best time of a 7:45.19 from US Trials would have finished 9th, about half a second off what it took to make the final. Whitlock was one of numerous Olympic swimmers to test positive for COVID-19 while in Paris.
Whitlock’s Time Progression
| Best Time At Florida | Heading Into Florida |
When Committed To Louisville
|
|
| 200 free | 1:41.44 (dual meet) | 1:37.17 | 1:43.20 |
| 500 free | 4:17.87 | 4:15.76 | 4:31.43 |
| 1650 free | 14:49.90 | 14:50.37 | 15:23.55 |
Whitlock was about two seconds off of his best time in the 500 free at midseason and dropped almost half of a second in the 1650 freestyle.
The Florida men finished 3rd at 2024 NCAAs and are still in the run for an NCAA title. Whitlock sat at #2 in the 1650 free and #5 in the 500 free on the Florida roster so far this season. Gio Linscheer leads the team with a 4:15.04 500 free and a 14:45.25 1650 free.
Whitlock is the latest swimmer that has announced they will return home to train with their club team. Aaron Shackell also made the US Olympic roster this summer, swimming the 400 freestyle, and will return to Carmel, Indiana after training with Texas this fall.
I hope everything is going ok for him. I know Fishers is training SCY right now and won’t make the switch to LCM until March, so unless he’s going to pull lane lines and switch the pool to train by himself everyday, this explanation doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
i’m starting to think that maybe all of these middle distance-distance swimmers leaving has to do with the college system as a whole. you don’t often see sprinters returning to train at home. the constant dual meets and interruptions to training could be what’s causing this recent trend.
I have a current college sophomore doing the same thing due to a bad freshman year at his college.. already swimming faster times than he did at a p4 school
47.9 100 back, 145.1 200 back after training with his club team
I see this starting to be a trend
2 olympians and a khia do not make a trend…
Not a trend.. Its called no patience.A lot of these people are acting like they never had an off swim.. They must not have swam in a lot of meets. ( obviously they have)
I dont fw this trend
college is hard
Next year (if he chooses to go to school a full year) IU and NC State seem to be the only other decent choices compared with UF. IU has a few good distance swimmers coming in and close to home and NC State has Dino and had success so far with a swimmer on FAST. Very confusing move though, i thought he would succeed at UF.
Texas? Maybe he saw Maurers drop.
Um, Hoosiers have a hell of a football team Luke, and second to only Purdue in hoops….