2024 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- February 19 – February 24, 2024
- James E. Martin Aquatic Center — Auburn, AL
- Defending Champions: Women: Florida (1x) Men: Florida (11x)
- Start Times (CT): 9:30 am prelims/5:30 pm finals
- Championship Central
- 2023 SEC Championships Box Score
- Major Conference Roster Limits and Scoring Rules
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Video (SEC+ Network)
- Day 1 Diving Recap
- Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Live Recap | Day 4 Finals Live Recap
- Day 5 Prelims Live Recap | Day 5 Finals Live Recap
In January 2023, SwimSwam’s staff put our heads together and made our way-too-early predictions for the US Olympic Team.
Some of those picks are not aging well, like Coleman Stewart and Annie Lazor, who have both retired.
Others are aging very well, like Yanyan’s pick of Dare Rose to take the second spot in the 100 fly before he eventually did just that in 2023, winning a bronze medal at the World Championships.
One of the more unhinged picks of the whole thing was my choice of Camille Spink to make the US team as a member of the 400 free relay.
At the time, Spink was midway through her senior season of high school, the #8 recruit in the class of 2023, and had a best time of 54.73 in the 100 free in long course.
The selection was not entirely about Spink per se. After the obvious top five choices of Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, Torri Huske, Abbey Weitzeil, and Claire Curzan, it didn’t feel like the relay was complete. It felt like there was room for one more.
At the time, Simone Manuel wasn’t really into her comeback yet, and Erika Brown and Natalie Hinds weren’t really racing much.
So I went searching for someone new – a young sprinter with upside who seemed ‘close enough’ with ‘enough time left’ to get to a 53-low.
And in Spink, I found a swimmer going to a program that has had success with sprinters.
She broke through over the summer with a 1:58.61 in the 200 meter free for bronze at the Pan American Games, her first big international medal, and the pot got bigger last week at the SEC Championships when she swam 1:42.37 in the 200 free for 2nd and 46.69 in the 100 free for 1st – the latter coming almost a full second ahead of the field.
She’s now the 14th-best performer in the history of the 100 free.
These are just yards swims, and she still has the NCAA Championship meet to come, but that’s still a big breakthrough for Spink, who entered the meet with best times of 1:43.82 and 47.28, respectively.
The US, of course, still has a long way to go to catch up to Australia in the women’s 400 free relay, and of all the swims this weekend, Gretchen Walsh’s 45.16 at the ACC Championships (four-tenths better than any woman in history) is clearly the most-impactful to that effort.
But the US needs some new blood in this race to pressure the veterans and continue to claw away at that gap, and it looks like Spink is ready to offer that. I’m not ready to declare my pick clairvoyant just yet, but Spink level’ed up in a big way at the SEC Championships, and now has a platform to springboard off into long course season.
Don’t count out Izzy Ivey. She had a great lead off in the relay that would’ve beat Spink in the 100.
You can add Hali Flickinger to the retired list. Some interesting picks made by all staff members a year ago. Camille Spink pick is trending upward and it will be interesting to see what times she continues to put up as the trials draw closer. I hope she makes it.
I’m rooting for Camille! Let’s go!
Great prognostication!
The Dressel picks were after he was already on this break. He left the 2022 Worlds, not the 2023 Worlds.
I see several retirements in that list, and a few more than seem like head-scratchers with the benefit of hindsight, but the few up-and-comers seem to be selected well so far…