The Unexpected Conclusion To The Men’s 100 Freestyle At USA’s 2023 World Champs Trials

2023 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• June 27 – July 1, 2023
• Indianapolis, IN
• Indiana University Natatorium
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheet (updated version, 6/26)
• Live Results
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• How To Watch
• Day 1 Prelims Live Recap | Day 1 Finals Live Recap

Day one of the 2023 US World Championships featured some exciting races, perhaps peaking with the men’s 100 freestyle final. If you’re a dedicated fan of NCAA swimming, you’ve probably heard of the top two swimmers, but if you only follow international meets, you may be surprised by the results.

Cal’s Jack Alexy won gold in the A final with 47.93 and Chris Guiliano touched in second with 47.98. Those two men were certainly not the favorites to win this event heading into the meet and actually sat at 14th and 22nd seed, respectively as Alexy entered with 48.85 and Guiliano 49.17. They jumped up in the rankings during prelims to qualify for the A final and then sealed the deal in the final with a clean 1-2.

For those who aren’t tuned into the NCAA, Alexy just wrapped up his sophomore year and managed to snag a silver medal in the 100 freestyle at the 2023 NCAA Championships. At that meet, Alexy cracked 41 seconds for the first time with 40.88 and then hit 40.92 in the final. He continued that best-time-swimming energy into his long course efforts at Trials by going from 48.85 entry time to 47.75 in the prelims. His 47.93 for the win marked his second time under 48.

Notre Dame’s Chris Guiliano also had a strong NCAA season this year, winning ACC gold in the 200 freestyle (1:32.43) and placing 3rd in the 100 freestyle (41.85). At the NCAA Championships, Guiliano took second in the B final when he swam 41.64 but notched a time of 41.48 during prelims.

Guiliano did not race at the 2022 World Championships Trials but competed at the Phillip 66 National Championships in July 26. He hit 50.28 then, which was a best time for him at that point. He crack 50 in December 2022 at the US Open with a time of 49.23 and then hit 49.17 during finals. He dropped from that 49.17 to a sub-48 swim at Trials and will have the opportunity to race for the US at the World Championships this summer.

While it’s interesting to see two unexpected swimmers go 1-2 at Trials, this means that the US will be sending two men with limited international racing experience to the meet. The US has historically been dominant in the sprint freestyle and has seen many men reign for several years at a time in the 21st century such as Olympic medalists Jason Lezak, Nathan Adrian, and Caeleb Dressel, among others.

Caeleb Dressel won Olympic gold in the 50 and 100 freestyle in 2021 and was expected to pull off a similar performance at 2022 Worlds. Dressel unexpectedly pulled out shortly after that meet began and only started racing again a few weeks ago. Dressel raced the 100 freestyle on day one of Trials, placing 3rd in the C final in 49.64.

Dressel is not at the level that he’s been in the past in the 100 freestyle, trailing his American record of 46.96. Without Dressel at the top, it will be interesting to see how the American men fare at the World Championships. In 2022, Brooks Curry was the only American in the race, in the 100 free, and swam a time of 48.00 in the final for 5th. In the 50 Michael Andrew placed second in the final with 21.41 while Caeleb Dressel dropped out of the race.

Despite the presence of Dressel, there are still some experienced men on the scene such as Ryan Held and Justin Ress, but the US is arguably in the most uncertain territory as a sprinting nation that it’s been in quite some time. We have yet to see who will represent the US in the 50 freestyle, but we know that it will be a pair of fresh faces hitting the blocks in the 100. Already with 47s on their resume, there is certainly potential for Alexy and Guiliano to make some noise at Fukuoka 2023.