The United States, much like it did in 2010 and 2011, is using a two-meet selection procedure for the 2015 World Championships.
The results of the A finals at U.S. Nationals, plus the A and B finals at Pan Pacs, will be combined, and the top swimmers will go on to Kazan, Russia next summer in the following order:
- Priority 1: Top 4 athletes in 100 and 200 free, top 1 athlete in each Olympic event added to team
- Priority 2: 2nd athlete in each Olympic event added to the team
- Priority 3: Top 1 athlete in each non-Olympic event (50 back/breast/fly, men’s 800 free, women’s 1500 free) added
- Priority 4: 5th athlete in 100 and 200 free added
- Priority 5: 6th athlete in 100 and 200 free added
There’s a lot of caveats to these rules, so below we’ve done our best to boil them down to a simple table.
- A yellow box means a swimmer has earned an individual swim in that event.
- A bright orange box means a swimmer has earned a relay swim in that event.
- For now, we’ve taken the top two priorities above, and called those “locks” for Worlds. The U.S. is limited by a 26 man and 26 woman roster size, however, so priorities 3, 4, and 5 we’re calling tentative for now. Those are swimmers denoted below in the pale orange. These swimmers are “on the Worlds team, if there’s enough room for them.” The exception is for swimmers like Matt Grevers – once they’re on the team, they get the right to swim a non-Olympic event they’ve won, regardless of roster spots. If the non-Olympic event winners make the team in something else, then decline their swim in the non-Olympic event, they aren’t replaced. If the non-Olympic event winners don’t make the team in something else, and decline their spot, then the second-fastest swimmer gets it (not likely to happen very often).
There’s one tab for men, and one tab for women.
Take a look here at the World Championship team through day 2 of Pan Pacs below:
| 2015 World Championship’s Roster – Women | ||
| 1 | Katie Ledecky | Ind 200 Free, 800 free |
| 2 | Missy Franklin | Ind 200 Free, 100 back, Ind 100 free |
| 3 | Shannon Vreeland | 4×200 Free relay, 4×100 free relay |
| 4 | Leah Smith | 4×200 Free relay |
| 5 | Kathleen Baker | 100 back |
| 6 | Becca Mann | 800 free |
| 7 | Cammile Adams | 200 fly |
| 8 | Katie McLaughlin | 200 fly |
| 9 | Elizabeth Beisel | 400 IM |
| 10 | Maya DiRado | 400 IM |
| 11 | Jessica Hardy | 100 Breast, 50 Breast |
| 12 | Micah Lawrence | 100 Breast |
| 13 | Simone Manuel | Ind 100 Free |
| 14 | Abbey Weitzeil | 4×100 Free Relay |
| 2015 World Championship’s Roster – Men | ||
| 1 | Conor Dwyer | Ind 200 Free |
| 2 | Ryan Lochte | Ind 200 Free, 4×100 free relay |
| 3 | Matt McLean | 4×200 Free relay |
| 4 | Reed Malone | 4×200 Free relay |
| 5 | Matt Grevers | 100 Back, 50 fly |
| 6 | David Plummer | 100 back, 50 back |
| 7 | Tyler Clary, 400 IM | 200 fly |
| 8 | Tom Shields | 200 fly |
| 9 | Connor Jaeger | 1500 free |
| 10 | Michael McBroom | 1500 free |
| 11 | Cody Miller | 100 Breast |
| 12 | Nic Fink | 100 Breast |
| 13 | Nathan Adrian | Ind 100 Free |
| 14 | Michael Phelps | Ind 100 Free |
| 15 | Jimmy Feigen | 4×100 free relay |
| 16 | Chase Kalisz | 400 IM |
Staff seems not to have picked up on that error yet! Generally, they correct errors promptly!
Correction was made on html list, but still wrong on excel
that list above is definitely wrong. ledecky in the 100 back and franklin in the 800 free ?!
I STILL don’t get it! Sigh
Based on entries and who’s already on the team, we may already be at the point where all Priority 5 men will be taken. I just did a back of the index card “what if,” and I don’t see a way where there’s more than ten men eligible for the remaining spots.
Prelims do not count. Times from A finals at Nationals, and A- and B-finals at Pan Pacifics, count.
While we are competing as a team against other nations teams we are competing against each other. Giving a4th place finisher at Nat’s. when not making the team in that event another chance at that event. What about 4th place finishers who are still in the US. This system that was created is out of whack. US systems have been clear cut for major selections. Maybe it is just me but team attitude could be in a shambles as this has become the Trials for next year with others being left out. Much less picking a team of world Championship this early is also out of whack. All being done in the middle of competing against other international swimmers.
I guess I don’t fully understand the selection process, but apparently it doesn’t matter that Kevin Cordes had a better time in the PanPac trials in the 100 breast than the 2 that are colored in?
Unfortunately for Cordes, I think only times in finals at nationals and times in A and B finals at Pan Pacs count. Prelim times don’t count.
I guess the swimmers know this going in, but it seems a bit unfair, at least to the swimmer with the faster time.
They want people who are going to throw down w/ the pressure on in finals.
My guess is the coaches want to select not just the fastest team, but the team that will swim fast under high-pressure circumstances at a big international meet. Also, when you think about it, usually you only have 1 chance to show what you can do, like Olympic Trials; in this case those that made Pan Pac’s got 2!
You only get 1 chance to win the World/ Olympic gold in an event (unless you’re willing to keep working hard until the next one).
Plus, the rules were the same for everybody, which makes them fair.
Remember, Cordes might still make Worlds in the 200, and could still be chosen for the relay if Fink and Miller don’t perform well.
Why is Fink on the squad over Cordes? Shouldn’t Cordes’s 59.70 in prelims count, even with the DQ in finals?
No, prelims don’t count. They are only counting Finals from the two meets. But it can be an A final or a B final.