Reported by Lauren Neidigh.
2017 U.S. NATIONALS/WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TRIALS
- Tuesday, June 27th-Saturday, July 1st
- 50-Meter Course
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Meet Info
- Prelims timelines
- Broadcast schedule
- Event-by-event previews
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Stream (U.S. viewers)
- Live Stream (International viewers)
Day 1 of the 2017 U.S. Nationals/World Championships Trials are in the books. The men and women competed in the 100 free on Tuesday night, determining the 4×100 relay squads that will represent the United States at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest.
Here’s a look at the 6 men and women who made the team*:
| MEN | WOMEN |
| Nathan Adrian (47.96) | Mallory Comerford (52.81) |
| Caeleb Dressel (47.97) | Simone Manuel (53.05) |
| Townley Haas (48.20) | Lia Neal (53.59) |
| Zach Apple (48.23) | Kelsi Worrell (53.99) |
| Michael Chadwick (48.48) | Olivia Smoliga (54.31) |
| Blake Pieroni (48.49) | Katie Ledecky (54.35) |
*5th and 6th place finishers have not been officially added to the roster yet.
The women now look like a serious threat to Australia in the gold medal race. The Americans have never headed into a major international meet with a woman sub-53, and now they have 2 swimmers going in with lifetime bests in the 52-high range thanks to Olympic champ Simone Manuel and tonight’s champion and U.S. Open Record-setter Mallory Comerford. Throw Katie Ledecky, who put up a sub-53 anchor split in Rio, into the mix, and the USA is in the conversation for gold. Lia Neal threw down a personal best 53.59 tonight, so it isn’t inconceivable to think she could pull out a 52.9 from a relay start, especially since she was a fantastic relay swimmer at NCAAs and has been a staple of the 400 free relay for years now. Additionally, Kelsi Worrell broke 54 seconds for the first time today, and she has the speed to put up a 53-low split.
World Record holder Cate Campbell is sitting out of the World Championships this summer, which could make it much more difficult for the Australians to bring home the gold ahead of the Americans in Budapest. The top-ranked Australians other than Cate Campbell this year are Bronte Campbell (52.85), Emma McKeon (53.12), Shayna Jack(53.40), and Madison Wilson (54.24). Brittany Elmslie, who swam on the winning relay in Rio last summer, will also be heading to Worlds with the Aussies, but her best time so far this season is a 54.38. Emily Seebohm isn’t far behind this season with a 54.39.
There are several key points mentioned by Mallory that make me to believe she is a real deal.
By listening to her I’m getting an impression that she swims LCM races not because she loves or feels comfortable with them but because she has to. She likes races in yards because of that turns that HELP her. She is still LEARNING LCM races. This talk about last 20m of the race is very similar to Ledecky’s talk of her last 15m about couple years ago. She said before that 200 meters is another animal to her that she doesn’t know how to approach yet. etc, etc etc
And I believe everything she says. How is it possible that… Read more »
She has worked on those last 20 meters – that can make a big difference in a tight race !! Fantastic pacing