Swimming Olympism and Professionalism Again Stand at Odds with Stroke 50 Selections

One of the first editorials I ever wrote about swimming surrounded the non-Olympic stroke 50s and why the US seems to downplay those events.

I can’t find that editorial, but the hypotheses surrounded two ideas. The first, most obvious one, is the dogmatic focus on the Olympic Games. Stroke 50s aren’t in the Olympics, and USA Swimming’s bread is buttered primarily by the Olympics.

The other had to do with the way Americans coached/trained at the time: volume was king, and volume doesn’t always create the best 50 swimmers. Great stroke 50s also require a lot of hyper-technical work, and not every coach has that educational background nor the ability to train in the kind of small groups that requires. If you’ve got 30 swimmers in the pool, it’s a lot easier to give them all 10k workouts and say “go” than to take the time to hone in on the fine technical details that make-or-break a stroke 50.

The debate over stroke 50s came to a head this weekend when Michael Andrew, in spite of winning the 50 fly at the US National Championships, was left off the team because of the World Aquatics-mandated 26-swimmer roster limit.

With World Championship medals in the stroke 50s worth hundreds-of-thousands of dollars, the debate overlaps a lot with the one surrounding choosing the best long course swimmers to represent the US at the World Short Course Championships, rather than the best short course swimming. It’s about driving USA Swimming forward toward the Olympics, even at the expense of athletes trying to shape out a professional career in non-Olympic events.

Andrew ranks 3rd in the world in the 50 fly so far this season globally, and would be a favorite for a medal next month in Fukuoka.

2022-2023 LCM Men 50 Fly

OlegRUS
Kostin
04/19
22.62
2Thomas
Ceccon
ITA22.6807/24
3Maxime
Grousset
FRA22.7407/23
4Diogo
Ribeiro
POR22.80 WJR07/24
5Michael
Andrew
USA22.8505/21
View Top 26»

For a long time, we’ve all sort of taken for granted that the full priority of the USA Swimming Selection Procedures would be met. That’s because for the longest time, it was. But after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where Ryan Held was left off the roster in spite of finishing 6th in the 100 free – a spot that usually goes.

The change on the men’s side seems to be the lack of the kind of anchors who can take up multiple event spots and multiple relay spots – the Michael Phelpses or Ryan Lochtes of generations past. The women’s side still has that with Katie Ledecky and Regan Smith, for example, which is why they haven’t been running into these cap issues as strongly.

But as specialization becomes more prevalent, these limits could become a bigger issue.

That leaves USA Swimming with a choice to make, and forces them to not look at priority orders as a hypothetical, but rather a reality.

For the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the winners of the stroke 50s from US Trials were the 3rd priority – ahead of the 5th and 6th place finishers in the 100 and 200 free (often, but not always, relay only swimmers).

When selection procedures were released for 2023, however, that was flipped, and those 5th and 6th place finishers were put ahead of the stroke 50s in the priority queue. That is why Michael Andrew, and not Henry McFadden, was left off.

To be clear, in spite of what is circulating on social media, this was not done in secret, and it was not done “a few weeks ago.” There was a revised version of the selection procedures earlier this year, but they were not a secret. The changes did not impact the priority selection order for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, but instead dealt with integrating the priority of the U23 European Championships, tie breakers, and a few other minor administrative changes.

The selection priority for the 2023 World Championships always had the stroke 50s last.

While the membership of USA Swimming seems to be starting to warm up to the value of the stroke 50s at the senior level, the administration of the organization is making their stand clear. USA Swimming tends to be heavily influenced by the more traditional voices of the sport, and that seems to be the case again here.

And while there is a lot of money on the line for athletes not chosen ($20,000 for Worlds gold medals, plus the residual commercial benefits of being a World Champion), there is something on the line for USA Swimming too: if the US doesn’t win the medals table at the World Championships, that will hurt the brand. I have absolutely no idea how to quantify the commercial impact of that, but stroke 50 medals count toward those totals.

Will the US’ medal total change if they leave, say, a 6th place finisher in the 200 free home? Almost definitely not. The US can cruise to an 8th place finish in the 800 free relay in prelims without any issue.

But the better question maybe surrounds whether that 6th place position in the 100 and 200 free impacts Olympic outcomes. We’ve asked one of our stable of stat gurus, Daniel Takata, to research 6th place finishers in the 100 and 200 free from pre-Olympic World Championship meets and see what their Olympic Trials/Olympic outcomes were a year later.

But in the meantime, this all feeds into a bigger narrative of what we, collectively as a sport, want swimming to be. Do we want it to be a once every four year sport, where the Olympics are the alpha and omega, and where membership and the fanbase erodes in between? Or do we want it to become more fragmented, where we on the industrial side have the opportunity (and maybe the obligation) to grind every year to fill those valleys?

It’s a question that is increasingly becoming the conversation of the sport. Most swimming people, when asked in a vacuum, will say they want the latter, they want a sport where athletes can make money all four years, afford to stay in the sport longer, and where membership numbers don’t drop intra-Olympiad. But the actions continue to be all about chasing that OLY title.

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M M
1 year ago

Come on, I want to see fast swimming! Let me watch the Carl lewis and Ben Johnson of swimming show me some speed!!!! Its admirable and great to see swimmers in the mid and long events do amazing things in terms of maximizing their systems, but nothing beats a short burst of sheer speed and power…so much more entertaining, also for those that don’t know swimming, which is most of the world

Last edited 1 year ago by M M
Off the Blocks
1 year ago

This is the same in Australia, and I totally agree with it. Priority rankings for team selection are released well before the trials.
MA should have realized that a 1.01.5 breaststroke wouldn’t be good enough to make the team.

The White Whale
1 year ago

I think the bottom line is that–at least in the U.S.–the stroke 50s are seen as events for 10 and unders and not legitimate events.I think that perception will change, but it will take time. It’s a bit odd because everyone (well, most) accepts the 50 free as a legit event.

Eddie Rowe
1 year ago

26 spots:

6 freestyle events
3 butterfly events
3 breaststroke events
3 backstroke events
2 medley events

Need 3 more 100 swimmers for the 400 relay
Need 3 more 200 swimmers for the 800 relay

Take the winners of every event, and 3 more in the 100 and 200. You still have 3 spots left with no doubles.

In this year’s mix, prioritizing the 50 winners over 6th place freestyles (as has been said) puts MA in over Henry McFadden for his 6th in the 200 free.

I don’t care if you don’t like to watch 50s. Winning an event at a selection meet should move you forward to compete in that event at… Read more »

Susan
1 year ago

I have been reading the comments about MA since trials..and I have commented. What is so amazing, is the polarization displayed. MA seems to be the poster boy for the ideological split in this country. He is attacked for his display of his faith, his training, his vaccine beliefs, and the fact that he had a bad meet in hin 100s. I am curious if those that comment on his personal beliefs have ever met him?
What I have agreed with is the possible need for him to train with other swimmers..just so he can get used to racing people..I would pick Cal..great sprinters! Yeah to keep attacking his beliefs is exactly what is happening on a national level… Read more »

400IMLuvr
1 year ago

I think it’s more important to have a 5th place finisher in the 100/200 there than a 50 swimmer but I would be for ranking the 50 champions above 6th place

Yup
Reply to  400IMLuvr
1 year ago

.

Last edited 1 year ago by Yup
Ridiculous
1 year ago

The selection policy is a bit absurd. Think about it.

Someone only swimming relay HEAT can go while someone who can swim a FINAL and potentially WIN A MEDAL
does not. A heat only swimmer is not necessary on the team; team USA can win a medal without a heat-only swimmer like many other countries. Individual events, whether olympic or non-olympic, should be prioritized first. Because of USA’s policy, USA will now have a significantly lower chance of winning medals in the 50m fly.

To Sum:

Losses of not having a heat-only swimmer on the team: nothing
Losses of missing Andrew: 2 chances for a medal

The USA is only weakening its team by doing this.… Read more »

Yup
Reply to  Ridiculous
1 year ago

MA is only weakening the team by adding 3.5 seconds in the 100 breast and a full second in the 100 fly and ditching the 200 IM completely.

Swammer11
1 year ago

We can debate priorities all we want, but it really comes down there are too few men who are able to qualify in multiple events (was not a problem on the women’s side- they’re well below the cap) and Andrew swam kinda poorly this past week.

Eddie Rowe
Reply to  Swammer11
1 year ago

Carson Foster did what he could . . .

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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