Carson Foster will swim the 400 free at the World Short Course Championships in December, a source close to the Foster camp tells SwimSwam. This is significant news given his (short-lived) American Record swim on Wednesday in the equivalent 500 yard freestyle.
While USA Swimming has not released an updated roster from the 32-swimmer squad announced in October, Foster is one of several swimmers who are expected to add events from what they officially qualified to compete in as the U.S. team takes opportunities to fill out event lineups with a relatively-small squad. For example, now that they officially have qualifying times, it is expected that some combination of Virginia training partners Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, and Alex Walsh will add entries in the 100 IM.
Foster was initially selected to swim the 200 IM and 400 IM, the two events that he swam individually at the Olympic Games (taking 4th and bronze, respectively).
He has long dabbled and “teased, then withdrawn” from the 400 free in long course at big national and international competitions. His lifetime best is 3:45.29 from the 2022 Austin Sectionals where he didn’t swim either of his primary IM events. He has raced it a few times since then – at Pro Swims, the U.S. Open, and at a local club meet in November 2023 – but never at a Trials or World Championship meet.
The original U.S. roster only had one entry for the U.S. of a maximum two per individual event. That entry came from Kieran Smith, the defending World Short Course Champion in the event.
Smith swam 3:47.64 at the Pro Swim Series in San Antonio in April in long course, which is an “A” cut and makes the U.S. eligible to send two swimmers to the meet.
The 2024 World Short Course Swimming Championships will be held from December 10-15 at the Duna Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
$10 he no shows.
When did Alex Walsh get the QT for the 100 IM? I don’t see her listed in WAQ’s the qualifying rankings and I don’t see Gretchen’s swim there either.
Gretchen is showing up in the qualifying ranking now.
How bout the 200 back??
Lol he saw his time yesterday and was like, “Yeah maybe I should do this.”
Haha not sure if that’s the chronology in which it happened, or was more the impetus for someone bringing it up to me.
Is Alex Walsh confirmed to be swimming at Worlds? She hasn’t competed yet since her surgery. I’d figure she’d want to get some racing reps in before going to the big stage.
Yes, confirmed.
Hope that scy translates into a good swim for him.
I’d think so, underwaters aren’t his strength (although Townley Haas admires them😂)
Now do 200 Fly
We need a guy under 3:45 omg
should be able to, it’s scm1