A Changing Of The Guard Looms In The Women’s 50 Freestyle (U.S. Trials Day 9 Finals Preview)

2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS

• June 15-23, 2024
• Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN
• LCM (50 Meters)
• Session Start Times (ET):
  • 11 a.m. Prelims
  • 7:45 p.m. Finals (varying based on broadcast needs)
• Meet Central
• SwimSwam’s Definitive Guide to Trials
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Prelims Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8
• Finals Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8
• Finals Live Stream
• Day 9 Finals Heat Sheet 

It’s the last night of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Over eight days, we’ve seen finals of 26 events go off the blocks and now there are just two remaining: the women’s 50 freestyle and men’s 1500 freestyle. At the end of tonight, the roster for the Paris Olympics will be set.

So, is there going to be anyone new joining the team in Paris or are going to see four athletes add to their Olympic schedules?

Women’s 50 Freestyle

The top five of the women’s 50 freestyle have already been confirmed for Paris. And leading the charge is Gretchen Walsh, who’s looking to cap off her excellent week in Indianapolis with another win. In a stacked second semifinal on Day 8, the new 100 butterfly world record holder just got the better of Torri Huske, ripping a 24.06 to Huske’s 24.09.

Torri Huske (photo: Jack Spitser)

Those were huge best times for both Walsh and Huske and pushed them up the all-time American rankings to 4th and 6th, respectively. More important for their Olympic bids in this event, the two clearly separated themselves from the rest of the challengers. Abbey Weitzeil qualified 3rd in 24.48, over four-tenths behind Walsh’s top time.

But this is the splash and dash — it’s an unpredictable event and both Weitzeil and Simone Manuel (4th, 24.51) know how to get the job done in the 50 freestyle at Olympic Trials. And, both are still looking for an individual Olympic berth.

Manuel, the former American record holder, and Weitzeil are the two swimmers in the field who sit ahead of Walsh and Huske on the all-time top Americans list. They were also the U.S. Olympic representatives in both 2016 and 2021, though Walsh and Huske are already faster than the qualifying times at the last two Trials.

In tonight’s final, we could be about to witness a changing of the guard in the women’s 50 freestyle.

Men’s 1500 Freestyle

For the last event of these Trials, we’ll totally shift gears from the sprints and jump to the men’s 1500 freestyle. And while there is some unpredictability here — more on that in a minute — one thing that is not in doubt is that Bobby Finke should win this event and get the chance to defend his Olympic gold.

Luke Whitlock (photo: Jack Spitser)

It would by the biggest upset of the meet if someone in this field got the better of Finke; he’s the defending Olympic champion, the third-fastest performer in history (14:31.59), and was the only swimmer to go sub-15 minutes in prelims yesterday morning. Luke Whitlock did close on him during the final 50 of the 800 free, but make no mistake, Finke is the clear favorite to win and sweep the men’s distance events in Indianapolis.

Can Whitlock once again win the race for second? The 18 year old is already Paris bound after finishing second in the 800 freestyle in a personal best 7:45.19. Whitlock’s swum personal bests in both the 400/800 freestyle already this week — a solid signal that he’s gearing up for a drop in the 1500 freestyle as well, where his personal best is a 15:08.09 from earlier this season. If Whitlock wants to swim this event in Paris, he’ll need a big drop even if he finishes second as the Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) stands at 15:00.99.

Besides Finke, the only swimmer in the final who’s been under that time is Charlie Clark. After a rough 800 freestyle, Clark looked better in the 1500 prelims, posting a 15:04.77 to move through in 3rd. Though it isn’t just Whitlock he’ll have to contend with: both Daniel Matheson and David Johnston and will be ready to jump on their last shot at making the Paris team. Neither Matheson nor Johnston have hit the OQT yet, though with PBs of 15:0195 and 15:02.37 need smaller drops than Whitlock to make it happen. Johnston was right off his PB in prelims, qualifying 2nd for the final in 15:02.42.