Chase Kalisz
Chase Kalisz was born on March 7, 1994 in Bel Air, Maryland to parents Mike and Cathy. Kalisz began swimming at the age of 5, and he swims for the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and legendary coach, Bob Bowman.
Youth swimming
Kalisz graduated fom Fallston High School in 2012. That summer at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials he was fifth in the 200 IM and 6th in the 400 IM. Although he did not make the Olympic team, he was chosen for the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Championship squad. At that meet, in Honolulu, Kalisz won the 400 IM in a meet record time of 4:12.59. He also won the 200 IM in another meet record time of 1:59.51.
Early career
Kalisz began to gain national attention in 2011 when he placed third behind Ryan Lochte and Thiago Pereira in the 400-meter IM at the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix. Later that year he swam a 4:18.43 in the 400-meter IM at the National Championships. He experienced international competition in 2011 as well. At the 2011 World Junior Championships in Peru he took 4th in the 200 IM and 200 breast as well as 6th in the 400 IM. And at the 2011 FINA World Cup meet in Moscow, Kalisz was 3rd in the 400 IM and 5th in the 200 breast. Perhaps it is not surprising that Kalisz was becoming a top-knotch IMer while training for Michael Phelps’ former coach. He has said that Phelps was a great training partner who constantly pushed him to swim faster.
College swimming
2012-2013
The IMer became a University of Georgia Bulldog in the fall of 2012. He made an immediate impact for Georgia, winning the 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard breaststroke, and 200-yard IM at his first collegiate meet, a tri-meet with North Carolina State and Savannah College of Art and Design. During that same year, Kalisz won the 400 IM at the 2012 AT&T Winter Nationals. He was also 3rd in the 200 IM and 8th in the 200 fly at that meet. Shortly after being mentioned as a rising IM star by Phelps, Kalisz won the 400-yard IM at the 2013 NCAA Division 1 championships with a time of 3:38.05.
2013-2014
In January of the 2014 season, Kalisz made some headlines after Georgia Coach, Jack Baurle, were suspended for some time following an academic eligibility review. Regardless, Kalisz still performed at the highest level when it mattered most. At the 2014 NCAA Championships, he bettered his placement in the 200 IM touching 2nd (1:41.19) and repeated as the 400 IM national champion (3:34.50), shattering the US Open and NCAA record.
2014-2015
At the 2015 NCAA Championships Kalisz swam the 200-yard IM, 400-yard IM and 200-yard butterfly. He came in 15th in the 200 IM, and was the runner-up in the 400 IM, upset on the back half of the race by rising talent Will Licon. After the meet, Kalisz announced that he would redshirt the 2015-2016 season in order to focus on the 2016 Olympic Trials.
2016-2017
At his final NCAA Championship meet, Kalisz was back on top in the 400-yard IM. He took down the U.S., American and NCAA record in 3:33.42 to take the gold. He also swam the 200-yard IM, finishing 5th in 1:41.19 and was disqualified in the 200-yard butterfly final for a false start.
National and international swimming
Post-NCAAs in 2013, Kalisz dominated the 400-meter IM at the 2013 Charlotte Ultra Swim, winning the event in 4:15.66, a meet record. At the 2013 Santa Clara Grand Prix, the 400 meter IM was won by Ryan Lochte in 4:11.36, but Kalisz was a very close second in 4:11.85. Then, at the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships, Kalisz earned a spot on the U.S. World Championship team by winning the 400 meter IM in 4:11.83.
2015 FINA World Championships
At the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, Kalisz took home a silver medal in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:09.22, winning his first major international medal.
2014 Nationals/Pan Pacs
Kalisz was a member of the 2013-2014 United States National Team. He swam his famous lineup at the 2014 U.S. National Championships, finishing third in the 200-meter butterfly, fifth in the 200-meter IM and second in the 400-meter IM. As a member of the National Team, Kalisz was selected to the 2014 Pan Pac’s roster — he won a bronze medal in the 400-meter IM.
2015 FINA World Championships
In Kazan, Russia Kalisz finished with a bronze in the 400 meter medley to add to his silver from two years before.
2016 U.S Olympic Trials
Kalisz became the first U.S swimmer to qualify for the Rio Games with a gold in 400 meter medley. He took control of the race during the breaststroke leg and despite efforts from Jay Litherland, Kalisz held on to take the title and automatic selection to his first Olympic Games.
2016 Rio Olympics
In the first race on the opening night in Pool, Kalisz won a silver medal for Team USA in the 400 meter individual medley. It was clear from the start the race belonged to either Kalisz or Japanese swimmers Daiya Seto or Kosuke Hagino. Seto won the butterfly leg, but his country mate took over during the backstroke. At the halfway point, Kalisz began to make his move, pulling into second place on the breaststroke leg. He was hunting Hagino down on the final stretch, but Hagino had done enough to secure his gold. Kalisz took silver in 4:06.75.
2017 National Championships/World Championship Trials
Kalisz struck gold in both IM events to qualify for the World Championships. First up was the 400 meter IM, in which he touched home first in 4:06.99. In the 200 meter IM he finished in a new best time of 1:56.51. He narrowly missed out on a third event at the Championships after finishing third in the 2o0 meter butterfly, just 0.21 behind Pace Clark in second and 0.32 behind Jack Conger in first.
2017 World Championships
Kalisz became a World Champion on day five in Budapest in the 200 meter IM. His breaststroke split of 32.63 was half a second quicker than the rest of the field which pulled him into the lead. He managed to hold off Kosuke Hagino and Shun Wang to take the gold in 1:55.56 almost a whole second quicker than the best time he posted a few weeks earlier at the trials.
On the final night Kalisz completed the medley double winning the 400 meter medley in a new Championship record of 4:05.90. He lead the way from start to finish pulling away further at every stroke change. he was almost two and a half seconds faster that Hungary’s David Verraszto who finished with the silver. Daiya Seto finished in third.
2017 Winter National Championships
Kalisz was crowned the king of IMs in Columbus as he took the titles in both, 200 and 400 individual medleys. His first title came in the 200 IM with the time of 1:41.79. On the next day, he took the gold in 3:39.45 as he beat Etay Gurevich by more than six seconds.
2018 U.S. National Championships
Kalisz won the 200 IM (1:55.73) and 400 IM (4:08.25) titles at the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships in Irvine, California. He also finished sixth in the 200 butterfly (1:55.42).
2018 Pan Pacific Championships
On day 1, Kalisz came in as the defending world champ in the 400 IM, and showed everyone why. It ended up being the same 3 medalists as it was in the 2016 Olympics, but this time Daiya Seto and Kosuke Hagino were flanking Chase as he touched the wall at 4:07.95, well ahead of Hagino’s 4:11.13 and Seto’s 4:12.60. After swimming the prelims of the 200 fly on day 2, Kalisz was back in the pool on day 3, winning the 200 IM in a personal best of 1:55.40.
ISL – LA Current
On June 18, 2019, Chase Kalisz was announced as a member of the LA Current ISL team, headed by GM Lenny Krayzelburg.
Signing with MP
On July 11, 2019, Two-time World champ and Olympic silver medalist Chase Kalisz announced that he signed with MP – the swimming product and swimwear brand launched by Michael Phelps. Kalisz announced the news on Instagram, and the official MP brand Instagram page also announced Kalisz’s addition:
2019 World Championships
To start his world championships, Kalisz touched for bronze in the 200 IM in a time of 1:56.78.
2021 Olympic Trials
On the first day of the meet, Chase Kalisz made the 2021 Olympic team in the 400 IM, winning the event in 4:09.09. Kalisz went on to make the team in the 200 IM as well, placing 2nd behind Michael Andrew.
2021 Olympic Games
To start off his 2nd Olympics, Chase Kalisz won his very first Olympic Gold, touching first in the men’s 400 IM with a time of 4:09.42. Kalisz swam a controlled race as usual, biding his time in the fly and back legs and separating himself from the pack on breast and maintaining that lead over the freestyle leg.
2022 World Championships
On Day 1 in Budapest, Kalisz was back in the world championship final of the 400 IM and made the most of his opportunity. He clocked 4:07.47, touching behind Leon Marchand and USA teammate Carson Foster, earning bronze.
2023 U.S. International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Kalisz cruised through the prelims of the 400 IM with an evenly relaxed 4:15.78 for 4th. In the 400 IM final, Bobby Finke, Jay Litherland, and Kalisz were near even at the 100, about a second behind Carson Foster. The three challengers remained near even through backstroke. Kalisz moved towards Foster over the breast to take the lead at the 300 with a 1:08.90 split as Litherland and Finke fell back. Coming down the stretch it was Finke charging but he couldn’t make up the 3-second gap as Foster won in 4:08.14 and Kalisz claimed 2nd in 4:08.22 with the same 29.30 coming home. The times were the 3rd and 4th fastest in the world. With the swim, Kalisz earned a rare 6th Worlds berth.
On the morning of the final day of racing, Kalisz announced via Twitter that he would not contest the 200 IM because of food poisoning.
It is with great disappointment that I have come down with food poisoning and will need to withdrawal from the rest of Nationals. My focus is on getting back to 100% health for the rest of the summer.
— Chase Kalisz (@chasekalisz) July 1, 2023
2024 US Olympic Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
A true veteran, Kalisz managed his prelims swim, taking the 2nd seed in the 400 IM with a 4:13.78. In the final, it was all Carson Foster, but Kalisz sat 2nd for the entire race and made a characteristically strong charge on breast, bringing Foster withing half a second. Foster widened his lead down the stretch but Kalisz finished well for second place and likely secured a 3rd Olympic berth with a 4:09.39.
Originally developed by Christina Wright
