2025 U.S. Trials Previews: Smith Fends Off A Texas Takeover In Men’s 400 Free

2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50 meters)
• World Championship Selection Criteria
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE: BY THE NUMBERS

• World Record: 3:39.96, Lukas Märtens (GER) – 2025
• American Record: 3:42.78, Larsen Jensen – 2008
• 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Winner: Aaron Shackell, 3:45.46
• World Aquatics ‘A’ Cut: 3:48.15

As the rest of the world continues to get faster in the men’s 400 freestyle, with three swimmers clocking 3:40 at the 2023 World Championships and Germany’s Lukas Märtens making history as the first man sub-3:40 earlier this year, the U.S. continues to lag behind.

Since the Tokyo Olympics, no American man has gone under 3:45 in the event, and Kieran Smith is the only active U.S. swimmer to have been under 3:44.

At the 2021 Olympic Trials, the field was so thin that Jake Mitchell had to do a solo time trial after placing 2nd in the final in order to hit the Olympic ‘A’ cut.

Although the medal outlook hasn’t been great the last few years, the one constant representing the U.S. internationally in this event, and the last swimmer to win a major medal, is Smith.

SMITH THE CONSTANT

Smith really stepped up at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, snagging the bronze medal in the 400 free in a time of 3:43.94, dropping nearly a second from his month-old PB set at the U.S. Trials (3:44.86).

Kieran Smith (photo: Jack Spitser)

Since then, despite qualifying to represent the U.S. at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and the 2024 Olympics, he hasn’t been back under 3:45—his fastest times in 2022, 2023 and 2024 all come in at 3:45.7.

Last summer, Smith was the runner-up to Aaron Shackell at the Olympic Trials in a time of 3:45.76, and he went on to place 11th at the Games (3:46.47).

So, although the numbers tell us that Smith has stagnated in the 400 free, and his spot on the U.S. team may be at risk this year, there is reason for optimism. At the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim in early May, Smith won the 400 free in 3:47.04, marking his fastest in-season swim ever, excluding the 2023 World Cup in Budapest that was held in October.

Given that 3:47.04 is faster than he’s ever been at this point in the year (outside of the 2022 Trials which were held at the end of April), it seems plausible that Smith could be back challenging the 3:45 barrier again this year, which would likely solidify him a spot on a fifth straight major U.S. team.

THE OTHER 400 FREE OLYMPIANS: SHACKELL & MITCHELL

Jake Mitchell and Aaron Shackell have both been Olympic finalists in the 400 free, with Mitchell placing 8th in Tokyo and Shackell finishing in the same position in Paris.

Aaron Shackell (photo: Jack Spitser)

Shackell had a real breakthrough swim in the Olympic Trials final last year, holding off Smith to touch first in a personal best time of 3:45.46 to book the victory and become the first official Olympic qualifier at the meet. Shackell then chipped .01 off his best time in the Olympic prelims (3:45.45) to earn a spot in the final, which is no small feat.

Things haven’t gone perfectly for Shackell since, spending the fall at Texas before opting to move back to Carmel Swim Club in December, but he’s had some solid swims in 2025, including producing a season-best 3:50.48 in the 400 free at the Indianapolis Sectionals in late March.

Mitchell, who is coming off wrapping up his college career at Florida, was close to his personal best times at the SEC Championships in February, but was well off form at NCAAs one month later. He was 3:47.76 in last year’s Trials prelims to make the final, but ended up 8th in 3:50.76.

So far this season, his lone 400 free swim came in at 3:51.91 in mid-May, which is quicker than he was prior to the Trials last year (3:52.87). However, all three of the 3:45 swims on his resume are from 2021, and he hasn’t been under 3:47 in nearly two years (last done in June 2023), and he’ll need to get back near career-best form to have a chance at a spot on the team.

LONGHORNS LOADING…

The Texas training group has several candidates to crack the World Championship team in the 400 free this summer, as they’ve got the fastest American this season in the long course pool along with the men who went 1-2 in the 500 free at the NCAA Championships two months ago.

Carson Foster has proven he’s elite in the 400 free, setting a personal best of 3:45.29 back in the summer of 2022, and he’s recorded the second and third-fastest swims of his career this year, clocking 3:46.42 at the Westmont Pro Swim in March and then going 3:46.20 earlier this month at the Longhorn Elite Invite.

The question for Foster is if he’s actually serious about vying for a spot on the Worlds team in the event, or if it’s a backup plan of sorts. He won’t have any scheduling conflicts at Nationals, with the 200 fly, 200 free and 400 IM on each of the first three days before the 400 free on Day 4.

If he races all three events on the first three days, it’s easy to see him skipping the 400 free to rest up for the 200 IM on Day 5. If he’s feeling good after the first three days of the meet and wants to roll the dice in the 400 free, he could end up winning it, but it seems more likely that he drops it to save himself for the 200 IM.

Rex Maurer (photo: Jack Spitser)

The other Texas swimmers in contention include reigning 500 free NCAA champion Rex Maurer, the NCAA runner-up Luke Hobson, and David Johnston, who has represented the U.S. in the 400 free at the last two World Championships.

Riding the hot hand and establishing himself in the minds of many as the favorite in this event is Maurer, who has been on fire since transferring to Texas and joining Bob Bowman last year.

In addition to breaking the American Record in the 500 free (4:04.45) and winning the NCAA title, Maurer has also taken steps in long course, notably hitting a new best time of 3:46.52 in the 400 free in mid-May at the Longhorn Elite Invite. Prior to that, he only had one career swim under 3:48, which was the 3:47.63 he produced at the LEN U23 European Championships in August 2023.

The 20-year-old brought his best time in the 500 free down from 4:11.88 to 4:04.45 during the 2024-25 college season, and given that improvement, it feels like he’s due for a bigger drop in long course. Whether that’s something in the 3:43 or 3:44 range, or a more modest drop, remains to be seen, but it feels as though he’s the frontrunner.

Johnston, 23, was a close 3rd at the 2024 Olympic Trials, clocking 3:46.19 in the final to miss a berth on the team by less than half a second (though he went on to qualify in the 1500 free). That marked the second-fastest swim of his career, only trailing the 3:45.75 he produced en route to winning the national title in 2023.

After spending some time with The Swim Team (TST) in California, Johnston returned to Texas in the fall and had solid NCAA season, including setting a new best time in the 1650 free at SECs (14:26.00).

Johnston was 3:49.37 in the 400 free at the Longhorn Elite Invite, and though he can likely get back in the 3:46 range next week, it might not be enough to land a top-two finish.

That brings us to Hobson, who didn’t race the 400 free at all in 2024, but has taken it on in his first two long course meets this year, going as fast as 3:51.32 at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim.

That marks his fastest in-season swim ever, and isn’t a far cry from his lifetime best of 3:49.25, set at the 2023 National Championships.

He’s been one of the fastest 500 freestylers in the nation throughout his college career, placing 3rd at NCAAs as a freshman, winning the title in 2023, and then reeling off back-to-back runner-up finishes behind Leon Marchand and Texas teammate Maurer the last two seasons.

If he ends up gunning for the 400 free in Indy, Hobson will have to find the fine line of using his 200 free speed to his advantage while also not overdoing it in the first half of the race, keeping enough gas in the tank to bring it home. Similar to Maurer, it feels like Hobson has a swim in much faster than his personal best, but it’s a matter of him executing it.

YOUNG GUNS ON THE RISE

Cal commit Ryan Erisman quietly threw down a pair of significant best times in the 400 free one month ago at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim, making himself a threat heading into the National Championships.

The 18-year-old brought his PB down from 3:52.20 to 3:48.57 over the course of one day, ranking him 8th all-time in the boys’ 17-18 age group. He’s now recorded the four fastest swims of his career in the last three months (also going 3:50.74 in the prelims, and 3:52.20/3:52.30 at the Westmont Pro Swim in March), and also notched a big best time of 4:14.50 in the 500 free during the short course season (#21 all-time for 17-18s).

Erisman added four seconds to his PB at the 2024 Olympic Trials, placing 43rd in 3:56.40, but he’s more experienced now and is riding some momentum entering Nationals with a great chance to crack the ‘A’ final.

Luka Mijatovic (photo: Jack Spitser)

Pleasanton Seahawks’ phenom Luka Mijatovic has been anything but quiet in his rise through the age group ranks over the last few years, rewriting the NAG record books, and he’s now in a position where he could make some noise on the senior international stage.

He was 12th at the Olympic Trials last year in 3:50.71, won the Junior Pan Pac title in 3:49.24, shattering Larsen Jensen‘s 22-year-old 15-16 NAG record, and then this past March, reset the record in 3:48.95 at the Westmont Pro Swim.

It took 3:48.63 to make the Trials final last year, and Mijatovic should have a drop in him from that swim in March, so it seems more likely than not that we’ll see him in the final in Indianapolis.

Another teenager to watch out for is King Aquatic Club’s Aiden Hammer, 17, who set a personal best time of 3:51.35 at the Westmont Pro Swim.

Two other names to watch, Alec Enyeart and Lance Norris, are both 21 and are coming off setting lifetime bests earlier this year.

Enyeart, a former Texas Longhorn, set a personal best time of 3:49.69 at the Sacramento Pro Swim in early April, which marked his first PB in the event in three years, having previously been 3:50.18 in 2022.

Norris, a rising senior at NC State, dropped two seconds at last year’s Olympic Trials, clocking 3:51.28, and then broke 3:51 for the first time in mid-May in 3:50.58.

Both swimmers project to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the ‘A’ final, but either could drop a big best time and crack the top eight.

Norvin Clontz, Luke Ellis, Gregg Enoch, William Allen and Will Mulgrew are all teenagers and entered in the 3:50-high to 3:53-low range, putting them on the radar to make an impact.

MISSING NAMES

Half of the 2024 Olympic Trials final won’t be racing in Indianapolis.

Bobby Finke, who was 4th, has opted not to enter the event, putting his focus on the 800 free, 1500 free and 400 IM, while 5th-place finisher Luke Whitlock is missing the meet to nurse a shoulder injury.

Jake Magahey, who was 6th, announced he’s taking a break from swimming for the foreseeable future, while 7th-place finisher Daniel Matheson isn’t entered and hasn’t competed since the NCAA Championships in March.

SWIMSWAM’S PICKS

Dark Horse: Henry McFadden – McFadden is coming off a strong sophomore campaign at Stanford, including setting a PB in the 500 free at ACCs (4:12.33) and dropping a 1:30-point swim in the 200 free. In the long course 400 free, his best time stands at 3:52.53, set at the 2023 U.S. Open, and he was only 3:55.77 at last summer’s Olympic Trials. However, he should be due for a big drop, and if he can marry his 1:30 speed with a solid back half, he’ll be dangerous.