2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS

• When:
  • Wave I Dates: June 4-7, 2021
  • Wave II Dates: June 13-20, 2021
• Prelims: 10am CDT | Finals: 7pm CDT (8PM finals on Friday & Saturday)
• Where: CHI Health Center / Omaha, Nebraska
• 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifying Cuts
• Wave I & II Event Order
• LCM (50m)
• Psych Sheets
• Wave II Live Results

Annie Lazor, Ryan Murphy, and Michael Andrew spoke with the press last night after winning the 200 breast, 200 back, and 200 IM respectively.

Lazor discussed her decision to come back to competitive swimming after taking a break, her relationship with training partner Lilly King, and her reaction after winning the race.

I’m still processing it, to be honest. I just knew it was not a one-person effort; it’s a whole team effort, so I wanted to make sure that everyone who was a part of it was getting the same amount of celebration that I had, because it took so many people for me to even be sitting here right now. I just wanted to make sure they got all the same credit that I was feeling, that I had myself. 

Andrew, who qualified for his second event of the week after winning the 100 breast, spoke his interaction with world record holder Ryan Lochte after the race.

I think what was amazing is after the end of the race, being able to embrace with Ryan and for him to tell me, like, he’s passing the torch to me, he’s saying ‘okay, you’re the guy, go and do this, go and kick some butt.’ That’s encouraging as a young athlete. I’ve always looked up to this guy. It’s a special moment that I will remember forever, just part of history. 

Murphy, who swept the backstrokes this week, spoke glowingly about Lazor’s job after graduating from college — working as a swimming operations intern at Cal — and echoed Andrew’s sentiments about Lochte:

He’s just a guy — deep down he really has a good heart. That’s what I really appreciate about Lochte. He really does care about people. It’s a bummer that he didn’t make this team, but what an incredible guy. He’s done so much for our sport, and we will miss him on this team. 

Originally reported by James Sutherland 

WOMEN’S 200 BREAST FINAL

1. Annie Lazor (MVN), 2:21.07
2. Lilly King (ISC), 2:21.75
3. Emily Escobedo (COND), 2:22.64

In undoubtedly the most emotionally-charged finish of the meet, training partners Annie Lazor and Lilly King went 1-2 in the women’s 200 breaststroke to officially punch Lazor’s ticket to Tokyo, with the 26-year-old claiming the win in a time of 2:21.07.

That showing falls just three-tenths shy of Lazor’s best time, set in 2019, and propels her into third in the world this season.

King took it out early, grabbing the lead with a 31.66 opening 50, but Lazor, Emily Escobedo and Bethany Galat stalked her down the second lap, and at the 100 turn, it was a four-way scrap.

Lazor blew by everyone on the third 50, splitting 35.97, and then extended the gap coming home for the victory.

King made a big push on the last length, pulling away from Escobedo and Galat to snag second in 2:21.75 and add a second event to her Tokyo schedule. This is King’s first “loss” in an Olympic Trials final, having gone 3/3 up until this point (I don’t think she minds).

King added a few tenths to her best of 2:21.39, set in May of 2019.

Escobedo and Galat, both 25, split the race almost identically, with Escobedo edging her on the last 50 to take third in 2:22.64, just off her PB of 2:22.00 set at the 2019 U.S. Open. Galat, who was a best of 2:21.77 in 2017, took fourth in 2:22.81.

The fourth-place time this year would’ve won the 2016 final by more than a second.

MEN’S 200 BACK FINAL

1. Ryan Murphy (CAL), 1:54.20
2. Bryce Mefford (SMST), 1:54.79
3. Austin Katz (TXLA), 1:55.86

Ryan Murphy took control of the men’s 200 back final from the get-go and the win was never in doubt, as the defending Olympic champion touched first in a time of 1:54.20.

Murphy moves into second in the world rankings this season, and posts his fastest swim since the 2019 World Championships. It’s his seventh-fastest ever, having been sub-1:54 three occasions.

One of Murphy’s training partners at Cal, Bryce Mefford, moved into second, passing Austin Katz, on the third 50, and then charged down the last 50—even making up ground on Murphy.

Mefford came back in 29.46, the fastest in the field, to take second in 1:54.79, a massive best time and also the second consecutive 1-2 finish at Trials for Cal swimmers in this event. Mefford entered the meet with a 2019 best of 1:57.39, and then brought that down to 1:56.57 in the semis before this showing.

The 22-year-old is now the eighth-fastest American of all-time.

Katz took third in 1:55.86, adding a few tenths to his best time of 1:55.57, and NC State’s Hunter Tapp moved up from sixth at the 150 to snag fourth in 1:56.76, taking eight tenths off his PB set in the semis.

MEN’S 200 IM FINAL

1. Michael Andrew (RPC), 1:55.44
2. Chase Kalisz (ABSC), 1:56.97
3. Kieran Smith (FLOR), 1:57.23

Michael Andrew delivered almost the exact same swim we saw from him last night, except this time it was done with the pressure on.

Andrew blitzed the field on the first 50, out in 23.77, and had subsequent splits of 29.29 and 32.29 on back and breast, putting him five one-hundredths shy of his 150 pace compared to last night.

The 22-year-old was way ahead of the field at that point, more than two and a half seconds, and despite laboring over the final few strokes, he won by over a second and a half in 1:55.44, just off his PB of 1:55.26 from last night.

That adds a second individual event for Andrew in Tokyo, having won the 100 breast early in the meet, and he’ll look to add a third in the 50 free.

Chase Kalisz moved up from fifth at the 100 to second with 50 meters to go, joining Andrew sub-33 on breast in 32.77, as he locks in a second event of his won at the Games with a runner-up finish in 1:56.97.

Florida’s Kieran Smith sneaked up on Kalisz a little on the free, closing in 28.43 to take a close third in 1:57.23, lowering his best time of 1:57.61 from the semis. Carson Foster took fourth in 1:57.99, adding a bit from the semis, as he has three near-misses her in Omaha.

Back in seventh was Ryan Lochte, the world record holder in the event, who, at 36, may have just raced competitively at the highest level for the last time. Lochte was never in serious contention in this race, ultimately clocking 1:59.67.