The Fort Lauderdale Open entries are officially closed. The meet filled in less than one day.
In 2025, the Fort Lauderdale Open was a crowd-pleaser and major success on the competitive calendar. It drew global attention and media after two world records were broken in one day. Katie Ledecky shattered the women’s 800-meter freestyle world record, and Gretchen Walsh broke the women’s 100-meter butterfly.
Hosted by Swim Fort Lauderdale, the 2026 Fort Lauderdale Open is sponsored by:
- Speedo
- City of Fort Lauderdale
- Visit Lauderdale and Beach Business Improvement District
Tickets are on sale now, and tickets did sell-out last year.
Come and cheer on the best swimmers in the world!
The star-studded line-up includes…
Katie Ledecky Bobby Finke
Gretchen Walsh Caeleb Dressel
Regan Smith Carson Foster
Kate Douglass Shane Casas
Simone Manuel Luke Hobson
Alex Walsh Chris Guiliano
Summer McIntosh Leon Marchand
Emma Weyant Thomas Heilman
Katie Grimes Josh Liendo
Emma Weber Ahmed Hafnaoui
Katharine Berkoff Dylan Carter
Claire Curzan Leah Hayes
Jilian Cox Rylee Erisman
Rhyan White Audrey Derivaux
And many more are entered. Over 550 swimmers will compete under the Florida sunshine.
Some of the most powerful collegiate and club programs in the country have committed to compete, including:
- University of Florida
- University of Virginia
- University of Texas & Pros
- NC State University
- Ohio State University
- Auburn University
- Princeton University
- Arizona State University
- Bolles School Sharks
- SwimMAC Carolina
- Nashville Aquatic Club
- Sarasota Sharks
- New York Athletic Club
Meet Schedule
- Wednesday, April 29: 1500 freestyle (timed finals)
- Thursday, April 30: Prelims & Finals
- Friday, May 1: Prelims & Finals
- Saturday, May 2: Prelims & Finals + 800 freestyle timed finals
The Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center continues to establish itself as a cornerstone of elite-level racing in the U.S., a venue that blends its rich swimming history with a world-class renovation and fast, reliable water.
With this kind of lineup and a proven record of producing historic performances, the 2026 Fort Lauderdale Open promises to be one of the premier meets of the year.
Courtesy of the Fort Lauderdale Open
Is there an entry list for each race available yet? I’m not even sure what website to look for to find it, since the event website only has general details about the meet, and not a list of any type of the entrants.
https://swimswam.com/ledecky-mcintosh-walsh-marchand-kos-headline-loaded-speedo-fort-lauderdale-open-psych-sheets/
I hope the new CEO of USA Swimming is seeing this. How could they not put the Pro Swim Series back in Fort Lauderdale. Someone has no idea how to make money.
Not attending this year. Kentucky Derby trip
When
The prize money is significantly less than a pro series…and yet plenty of star power entered in the meet. Is that a good thing for professional swimming?
Host is working on prize money…stay tuned.
I think the better question is, why did USA Swimming not see fit to come back for an official Pro Swim stop? And even when they didn’t, and therefore without the built in prize money, the teams/athletes still saw this as a premier opportunity.
Could you get us info on whether there will be a live stream on YouTube?
SwimSwam will load all race video.
They have time to come up with a way to stream this meet. It’s not hard. STREAM IT!
To play devils advocate, I could see streaming an outdoor meet as being slightly more difficult. There’s glare from the sun or stadium lights at night, there’s weather considerations, etc.
However, any indoor meet it’s not hard.
Can you throw a few gopros on the bottom of the pool and upload content after the meet? It’d be amazing to see it from that perspective. You could probably find a dive bum on one of the local docks who’d chill on the bottom and film it for a nitrox refill.