2025 U.S. World Trials Previews: Weinstein Leads Packed Women’s 200 FR Field

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

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE: BY THE NUMBERS

• World Record: 1:52.23, Ariarne Titmus (AUS) – 2024
• American Record: 1:53.61, Allison Schmitt – 2012
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Winner: Katie Ledecky – 1:55.22
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 1:58.23

The women’s 200 free should once again stack up to be one of the more exciting races at this year’s Nationals, as there is such a deep contingent of swimmers in the US between 1:55 and 1:58. As such, prelims will be critical because we will surely have swimmers miss out on making the final who had personal and season bests fast enough to do so. That dynamic makes this event a little more stressful and pressure-packed for the swimmers, but it also makes it one of the most exciting races for us swim fans.

At last year’s Olympic Trials, it was Katie Ledecky and Claire Weinstein who wound up finishing in the top 2 swimming times of 1:55.22 and 1:56.18 respectively. Though, Ledecky would go on to decline her roster spot in the individual 200 free, while 3rd place finisher Paige Madden would do the same, leaving Erin Gemmell as the other American to swim alongside Weinstein in Paris.

Ledecky and Weinstein

It seems easiest to start with the 6 swimmers who represented the US in the 4×200 free relay at the Olympics last summer. We start, of course, with the legend herself: Katie Ledecky. Ledecky has made it a habit in recent years to swim the 200 free at Trials/Nationals, then decline the individual roster spot and stay on the relay. That being said, given how well Ledecky swam at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series a few weeks ago, she may decide to return to the event individually on the world stage. Either way, Ledecky will be viewed as a favorite to win or finish 2nd in this race in Indy.

Ledecky holds a career best of 1:53.73 in the 200 free, which she swam at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. It may seem pointless to bring up her career best, which is now 9 years old, however, Ledecky just broke her own World Record in the 800 free at the Fort Lauderdale PSS, which was also a 9-year-old record. At that same PSS, Ledecky clocked a 1:55.51 in the 200 free, which marks the 2nd-fastest time by an American this year. Though Ledecky has strayed away from the race individually in recent years, she’s still an Olympic and World Champs gold medalist in the event.

You may be wondering why Ledecky is only the 2nd-fastest American in the 200 free this season. That would be because 18-year-old Claire Weinstein from Sandpipers of Nevada clocked a 1:54.93 in the 200 free at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series, and she did so racing head-to-head against Ledecky. That time represented was just .05 seconds off the personal best for Weinstein and simultaneously increased her status to that of a swimmer who not only could be the US national champion in the event, which she already was, but also a swimmer who is now in the conversation to medal in the event on the world stage.

Claire Weinstein (photo: Jack Spitser)

Weinstein’s 1:54.93 from earlier this month would have been fast enough to finish 4th in the event at the Olympics last summer. For context’s sake, Siobhan Haughey earned the bronze medal with a 1:54.55 last summer. Adding to her status as a contender, Weinstein earned bronze in the 200 free at the SC World Championships in Budapest back in December. She’s now earned some valuable experience competing on the world stage, as she was in the Olympic final last summer and medaled in the event at the SC World Champs last fall.

Another thing in Weinstein’s favor is that she’s currently improving in both sprints and longer distance swims. In addition to her career best in the 200 free at the Fort Lauderdale PSS, Weinstein also clocked new PBs in the 100 free (54.43) and 400 free (4:01.26) at that meet as well. Generally speaking, when a swimmer is improving in the 100 free and 400 free at the same time it typically means great things for their 200 free.

The Other 2024 Veterans

After gaining some valuable experience in Paris last summer, where she was able to compete both on the 4×200 free relay and individually in the 200 free, Erin Gemmell could make a big splash this year. As discussed above, Gemmell came in 4th in the 200 free at Trials last year, but with Ledecky and Madden denying their roster spots in the event, she wound up in the individual 200 free. Gemmell showed a ton of promise in Paris, making it through prelims then finishing 9th in semifinals, going just 0.09 seconds slower than it took to make the Olympic final. Gemmell was also given the task of anchoring the 4×200 free relay in Paris, helping the Americans to a silver medal with her 1:55.40 split.

After a good college season, Gemmell looks to be in great shape for LCM racing. At a meet in her home pool in Austin in mid May, Gemmell popped a 1:56.41 200 free, making her the 3rd-fastest American in the event this year.

Anna Peplowski came in 5th at Trials last summer, earning a spot on the 4×200 free relay team in Paris. Peplowski swam on the prelims relay for the US, leading off in 1:57.98 and earning a silver medal for her efforts. She holds a career best of 1:56.99, which she

Anna Peplowski (photo: Jack Spitser)

swam last April at the San Antonio Pro Swim Series.

Since her Olympic debut, Peplowski has been swimming extremely well. She won the NCAA title in the 200 free back in March, swimming a Big Ten record of 1:40.50. Since winning the NCAA title, Peplowski has put up a couple very solid LCM times, including a 1:57.99 at a meet at Ohio State in mid April, and a 1:58.70 at the IU Time Trial on May 12th. Given that, Peplowski remains a strong contender to earn a 4×200 free relay spot, after having done so for the 2023 World Champs and 2024 Olympics, and she has the upside to break through and move up towards the top 2.

Another youngster on the scene, Alex Shackell, an 18-year-old out of Carmel Swim Club, was a member of this relay in Paris as well. Funnily enough, of the 6 swimmers named so far, Shackell is the only one to have made the Olympic team in a non-freestyle stroke. In addition to the 4×200 free relay, Shackell swam the 200 fly individually in Paris, where she made the final and finished 6th. She also got called up to swim the fly leg of the prelims 4×100 medley relay, so the then 17-year-old wound up leaving Paris with a gold and silver medal from the 4×100 medley and 4×200 free relay respectively.

It does seem like Shackell has been putting a focus on her fly, however, the 200 free has still remained a constant for her this past year. She holds a career best of 1:56.70, which she swam at the 2023 Nationals. Shackell has been consistent in the LCM 200 free so far this year, having gone 1:58.19 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series after going the exact same time at the Indy Sectionals meet back in March.

Simone Manuel (photo: Jack Spitser)

Simone Manuel can’t be counted out either. While Manuel has always been better at the 50 free and 100 free, she’s at times been a relay swimmer for the US in the 4×200 free. Last summer, Manuel took 7th at Trials in the 200 free, but the coaching staff wound up having her swim on the prelims relay in Paris, giving some of the finals swimmers a swim off. As such, Manuel helped the Americans earn the silver medal.

Manuel has looked good in the 200 free so far this year. at the TXLA meet in Austin  in mid May, Manuel clocked a 1:57.34 in the 200 free, which is her season best in the event. Her career best stands at 1:56.09, which she swam leading off the relay at the 2019 World Championships.

Rising Stars

There are a few young swimmers looking to breakout onto their first World Championships roster in Indy. Pikes Peak Athletics 17-year-old Madi Mintenko was 10th in this event at Trials last summer. With another year under her belt, Mintenko may just have enough to get over the hump and onto a roster, or at least qualify for the final. The 200 free is arguably her best event, and she holds a career best of 1:58.02, which she swam at Junior Pan Pacs last summer.

So far this year, Mintenko has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with in this event, as she clocked a 1:58.55 at the Westmont Pro Swim Series in March, then went 1:59.47 at the Fort Lauderdale PSS a few weeks ago. Potentially even more importantly, Mintenko went 1:59.55 in prelims at the Fort Lauderdale PSS, showing that she came put up a quick enough time in the morning to advance.

Laker Swim’s Rylee Erisman, a 16-year-old, has thrown her hat in the ring as well. Erisman wasn’t a factor in the 200 free at Trials last summer, however, she just popped a 1:57.89 at the Fort Lauderdale PSS, which demands a significant amount of respect. In a lot of ways, Erisman is primarily a sprinter, but she’s now shown that she has what it takes to make a push for a relay roster spot in the 200 free as well.

Though not as young as her high school counterparts in this section, Tennessee’s Camille Spink, 20, is looking to make her first World Champs roster as well. Like Erisman, Spink generally leans a little more to the sprint end of things, but she’s got a great 200 free as well. She was a semifinalist in the 200 free at Trials last summer and holds a career best of 1:58.61, which she set back in 2023. Spink has been a big factor for the Vols in the SCY 200 free, where she’s been 1:42.06. Moreover, Spink swam career bests in the SCY 50 free, 100 free, and 200 free this past season.

Other Veterans

In addition to the Olympians from last year and the up-and-comers, there are a number of Olympic veterans who could make a resurgence in the 200 free. Leading this crew is Katie Grimes, who was a finalist in the 200 free at Trials last summer. While Grimes hasn’t swum at the Olympics or LC World Championships in the 200 free, she did just compete on the 4×200 free relay at the SC World Champs in Doha back in December. That relay, of course, would go on to break the World Record.

Grimes certainly has the speed to make this relay team, as she holds a career best of 1:57.19 in the LC 200 free. Grimes hasn’t competed in the LCM 200 free so far this year, but we can project that there’s a strong chance of her swimming it at Nationals.

Moving on from Grimes, we now go to Bella Sims, who was club teammates with Grimes for years at Sandpipers of Nevada. Sims has been in headlines lately, as she entered the transfer after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons at Florida, then announced her transfer to Michigan. In the interim, Sims has been back training at Sandpipers, which has yielded excellent results in the past.

Sims was an Olympian in 2020 (2021), competing in the 4×200 free relay in Tokyo. She helped the USA to a silver medal there. The following year, Sims once again made the 4×200 free relay for the 2022 World Championships, where she helped the USA to gold with a 1:54.60 anchor leg. In 2023, Sims was once again on the 4×200 free relay at the 2023 World Champs, where she earned a silver medal with her team.

Sims holds a career best of 1:55.45 in the LCM 200 free, which she swam back in 2023. While her best time is now nearly 2 years old, Sims still holds one of the fastest career bests in this entire field. She had a breakout NCAA season in the backstroke events this past year, which has somewhat shielded the fact that she’s swum quite well in her freestyle events, albeit SCY freestyle events. At the SEC Championships in February, Sims split 1:39.55 on the Florida 800 free relay, which was the 3rd-fastest split in history.

Adding to her momentum from that SEC relay split, Sims swam a 1:58.31 in the LCM 200 free at the Fort Lauderdale PSS. Sims will be one of the more interesting swimmers to watch in this event as her career best puts her in the category of being fast enough to qualify for the Worlds roster individually in the 200 free. The fact that she didn’t make it out of prelims at Trials last summer has caused some to write her off in the 200 free, and that could potentially play into her hand, as it allows her to fly under the radar a bit.

Another star swimmer who presents an interesting question here is Stanford’s Torri Huske. Primarily a flyer and sprint freestyler, Huske is also excellent at the 200 free. Last summer at Trials, the schedule made it tricky for Huske to compete in the 200 free, even

Torri Huske (photo: Jack Spitser)

though she would have stood a chance of making the relay. This time around, the only race Huske may compete in on the same day as the 200 free is the 50 fly, and that’s not an awful double, if she wants to do it.

Huske just recently reminded us of her ability in the LCM 200 free, as she clocked a personal best of 1:57.71 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series. Again, we don’t know if Huske will end up racing the 200 free or not yet, but she certainly would stand a chance of making the final, which means she would also be in the conversation for making the relay.

Leah Hayes, best known as a 200 IM’er, matched her best time of 1:58.19 in the 200 free in Ft. Lauderdale. That came while being more than two seconds off her best time in her best 200 meter event, which puts her in the range of plausibility for a 1:56-or-so in the 200 free.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Dark Horse: Anna Moesch – After a successful freshman campaign at Virginia, Anna Moesch is a name to watch out for in this event. Moesch holds a career best of 1:59.57 from the summer of 2023, so she’s due for some improvement, especially after dropping down to 1:42.39 in the SCY 200 free. Moesch’s best bet to make the Worlds roster is in the 100 free, where she has a career best of 54.09, but a good prelims swim in the 200 free would go a long way for her.