Caeleb Dressel Scratches 200 IM Prelims On Day 5 of U.S. Olympic Trials

2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS

#14 seed Caeleb Dressel scratched the 200 IM on day five of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II. He won the 100 free semifinals Wednesday night and will focus his attention on the final tonight. #8 seed Shaine Casas also scratched the 200 IM, likely to focus on the 200 back where he is ranked 3rd.

Katie Ledecky was seeded 10th in the 100 free but she scratched the event. She’s coming off a decisive victory in the 1500 free final Wednesday night and she is gearing up for the 800 free on Friday. #12 seed Katie McLaughlin also dropped the 100 free. She finished 4th in the 200 free final Wednesday, securing her an Olympic roster spot in the 4×200 free relay.

There were three scratches in the men’s 200 back: #12 seed Sam Stewart, #21 seed Kieran Smith, and #24 seed Jack Dolan. Both Stewart and Kieran have the 200 IM where they are ranked 6th and 12th, respectively. Dolan’s next race will be the 50 free on Saturday.

Molly Hannis scratched the 200 breast where she was ranked 22nd. This was her second and final race of the meet, following the 100 breast where she finished 7th. #24 seed Zoie Hartman also scratched the 200 breast. This was her last race of the meet.

All Event Scratches in Circle Seeded Heats

Women’s 100 Free

Men’s 200 Back

Women’s 200 Breast

Men’s 200 IM

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Susan
3 years ago

I dont see a grueling schedule for Dressel..Ledecky? Yes..Dressel 3 sprint events? Watching these trials makes Phelps achievements even more remarkable in 2008..4 im..2im..2fly..1fly..2free..
Granted, the depth is different, and these swimmers haven’t raced or trained consistently for over a year. It seems that the semis are producing the faster times overall, and finals we are seeing many veterans choke under pressure, or Ill prepared for a 3 tier swim These are the most unusual trials..with very few spots guaranteed!

Landen
Reply to  Susan
3 years ago

Sprint events have less room for error. Especially in the 50 where even being at 97% can mean a lost race when competing against specialists who only swim the 50.

AvidSwimFan
3 years ago

Good call by Casas to focus on the 200 back where he has a chance to snag a position. I think it’s also a good call by Katie to scratch the 100 free. She doesn’t need to be on the 400 free relay in Tokyo with the mile ahead and more competition in the 200/400/800 distances.

Joel Lin
3 years ago

enter Seli

Wave 1.5 Qualifier
3 years ago

A defending 200 Breast Rio swimmer doesn’t even bother to swim the event?

Megbert
Reply to  Wave 1.5 Qualifier
3 years ago

yeah idk why Hannis dropped it. That’s so odd.

Last edited 3 years ago by Megbert
Ol' Longhorn
3 years ago

I scratched too.

Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

Of course! That’s absolute common sense from Caeleb Dressel.
If only Torri Huske has had the same common sense startegy by scratching the 200 free and the 200 IM to focus on the 100 free where being the freshest possible is needed.
Save your energy for the events in which you have the most chances of qualification and for the stars, the events in which you have the most chances of gold medals at olympic games.

pSL1988
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

Well said.

Brownish
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

Bobo, no downvote, I don’t think this ever happened to you 😉

PVSFree
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

To be fair, Huske nearly qualified in the 200 IM

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

Also, is this the year the sprint breaststroke Dressel did in college catches up with him?

RMS
Reply to  Bobo Gigi
3 years ago

Torri placed 4th in the 200 IM and almost finaled in the 200 free which would’ve been close for a relay spot. I’d say her choice to swim those races were justified. She’ll be fine in the 100.

96Swim
Reply to  RMS
3 years ago

She’s also really young and already on the team. Why not see what you can do in some of those events and maybe set up a bigger schedule in 2024?

bobthebuilderrocks
3 years ago

…. Ryan, why didn’t you scratch the 2 back?…

Jotolo
Reply to  bobthebuilderrocks
3 years ago

There’s no way that Lochte swims the 200 back prelims, right?

Megbert
Reply to  Jotolo
3 years ago

Watch him drop a casual 1:53 2 back.

Notanyswimmer
3 years ago

Have a feeling he’s about to get shut out of the top two…
Hope he gets in the top 6 at least.

About Annika Johnson

Annika Johnson

Annika came into the sport competitively at age eight, following in the footsteps of her twin sister and older brother. The sibling rivalry was further fueled when all three began focusing on distance freestyle, forcing the family to buy two lap counters. Annika is a three-time Futures finalist in the 200 …

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