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)
- Day 7 Finals Live Stream (NBC)
- Psych Sheets
- Wave II Live Results
- Day 7 Finals Heat Sheet
Alabama’s Rhyan White upset world record-holder Regan Smith to win U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200 back. Her time moves her to #3 all-time among Americans.
White was second to Smith earlier this week in the 100 back, and even that was considered an upset for White. Tonight, though, White surged over the back half, running down Smith and taking over as the only female two-distance backstroker on the U.S. Olympic team.
White’s time of 2:05.73 dropped 1.3 seconds off her career-best set earlier this year at the Atlanta Classic. White blasted a 2:07.07 at that meet to enter the top 10 Americans all-time. Here at Trials, the 21-year-old was pretty controlled through heats (2:08.92) and semifinals (2:08.39), placing third behind Smith and Phoebe Bacon in both rounds.
Tonight, White swam by both of them late, and she and Bacon earned the two Olympic entry spots for Team USA. Bacon went 2:06.46, improving her personal best by four-tenths of a second, though she actually slips to #9 all-time among U.S. swimmers with White passing her.
White trails only the two most-recent world record-setters in this event:
Top U.S. Performers All-Time, Women’s 200 Back
- Regan Smith (2019) – 2:03.35
- Missy Franklin (2012) – 2:04.06
- Rhyan White (2021) – 2:05.73
- Maya DiRado (2016) – 2:05.99
- Margaret Hoelzer (2008) – 2:06.09
- Kathleen Baker (2018) – 2:06.14
- Elizabeth Beisel (2012) – 2:06.18
- Elizabeth Pelton (2013) – 2:06.29
- Phoebe Bacon (2021) – 2:06.46
- Isabelle Stadden (2021) – 2:07.28
Bacon improves her standing as the #3 U.S. swimmer of all-time in the 17-18 age group. Bacon, who just finished her freshman year at Wisconsin, is 18. Both Smith and Franklin set their world record swims (#1 and #2 above) while in the 17-18 age group, and Bacon trails only those two.
Congratulations to Rhyan!!! Great role model!
Congratulations Rhyan! We are rooting for an Olympic Upset too!
In terms of Regan Smith, her situation is really uncommon given the pandemic and that she suddenly went much faster than anyone else in a very small window at Gwangju. It’s really easy to over-estimate how long swimmers can sustain a peak – it’s really not at all unusual for swimmers to be devastating for just a year or so in their teens.
I also don’t think it helps psychologically when swimmers aim to ‘recapture’ or ‘hold on’ to previous excellence. I don’t know but there’s a sense that Smith has been swimming against her past self a bit.
I often think Phelps’s longevity was at least partly because he was constantly motivated by fresh challenges rather than trying to… Read more »
Every athlete deals with adversity in his/her own manner.
Amazing swim Rhyan! Way to take it home!
At least Regan is on the team for two other events. A lot can happen in two years. Regan can absolutely bounce back.
I can’t help but think if she was British and this happend they would just use a ridiculous QT to boot Bacon and put Reagan in. This way is better but painful.
In 84′ Craig Beardsley didn’t make it in 2Fl while World Record Holder right? The agony and the ecstasy.
Remember Kurt Krumholz (sp?)?
Of Note: The 200m back is before Bacon’s birthday so there’s till a chance for her to move up in the NAG rankings!
Sad. IMHO Reagan should not have forced the fly, just keep the 100, 200 backs