Here is an easy way to follow the selection process in order of preference en route to the maximum roster size of 26 men and 26 women:
1.The top 4 in the 100 & 200 freestyles and then the winner of each Olympic event will make the team
2. The second place finisher in the Olympic events will make the team
3. The winner of the NON-Olympic events will make the team (50s of the strokes, plus the W1500m FR & M800m FR) – if room
4. The 5th place finishers in 100 & 200 freestyles will earn a berth – if room
5. The 6th place finishers in 100 & 200 freestyles will earn a berth – if room
To read more about the selection dilemma, click here.
The doubles started rolling like crazy on day 2 of this meet. Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin both added 2nd and 3rd events to their schedules in the 200 free and the 200 backstroke.
In total, the women’s side of the pool thus far has four doubles. That means that the winners and runners-up in the Olympic events are all qualified, and with every double going forward, a non-Olympic winner will get her proverbial “wings” for Barcelona.
Women’s Multiples:
Missy Franklin (100 free, 200 free, 200 back)
Katie Ledecky (800 free, 200 free)
Shannon Vreeland (100 free, 200 free–relay)
The men’s side hasn’t broken quite as favorably yet, but there’s still plenty of doubles.
Ryan Lochte (100 free–relay, 200 free, 200 back)
Tyler Clary (200 fly, 200 back)
The rosters currently sit at 12 women who can be assured of invitation and 13 men.
On both sides, the “relay alternates” dilemma might not be as great as once imagined. On the women’s side, the 6th place finisher in the 100 free, Liz Pelton, made the team in the 200 back, so take her out of the equation. The 5th-place finisher in the 200 free, Maya DiRado, made the team in the 200 fly, so no hard choices there. Natalie Coughlin (5th in the 100 free) and Chelsea Chenault (6th in the 200 free) are still awaiting their fates.
On the men’s side, Ricky Berens was 5th in both the 100 and 200 free. Connor Jaeger, who was 6th in the 200 free, is already on the team in the 1500 free. Matt Grevers is still waiting to officially qualify, as he was 6th in the 100 free, but his chances in the 100 back look very good.
On the basis that the men only need one more “multiple,” and with so many quality opportunities left (Cordes in the 100 breast, Lochte in the 200 IM, Adrian in the 50 free, Jaeger or Houchin or McLean or Dwyer in the 400 free) we’ll go ahead and call the men’s runners-up in Olympic events “locked,” though they technically are not.
Next up, both sides will start digging into the non-Olympic winners.
Names in italics below haven’t been sealed for Worlds yet. Those names with asterisks haven’t been technically invited in that race, but based on their finishes in other events, are already on the roster. Bolded names are your Worlds team so far.
| Swimmer | Event | Place |
| Cammile Adams | W 200 Butterfly | 1st |
| Maya Dirado | W 200 Butterfly | 2nd |
| Tom Luchsinger | M 200 Butterfly | 1st |
| Tyler Clary | M 200 Butterfly | 2nd |
| Missy Franklin | W 100 Freestyle | 1st |
| Shannon Vreeland | W 100 Freestyle | 2nd |
| Simone Manuel | W 100 Freestyle | 3rd |
| Megan Romano | W 100 Freestyle | 4th |
| Natalie Coughlin | W 100 Freestyle | 5th |
| Liz Pelton* | W 100 Freestyle* | 6th* |
| Nathan Adrian | M 100 Freestyle | 1st |
| Jimmy Feigen | M 100 Freestyle | 2nd |
| Anthony Ervin | M 100 Freestyle | 3rd |
| Ryan Lochte | M 100 Freestyle | 4th |
| Ricky Berens | M 100 Freestyle | 5th |
| Matt Grevers | M 100 Freestyle | 6th |
| Katie Ledecky | W 800 Freestyle | 1st |
| Chloe Sutton | W 800 Freestyle | 2nd |
| Connor Jaeger | M 1500 Freestyle | 1st |
| Michael McBroom | M 1500 Freestyle | 2nd |
| Missy Franklin | W 200 Freestyle | 1st |
| Katie Ledecky | W 200 Freestyle | 2nd |
| Shannon Vreeland | W 200 Freestyle | 3rd |
| Jordan Mattern | W 200 Freestyle | 4th |
| Maya Dirado* | W 200 Freestyle* | 5th* |
| Chelsea Chenault | W 200 Freestyle | 6th |
| Ryan Lochte | M 200 Freestyle | 1st |
| Conor Dwyer | M 200 Freestyle | 2nd |
| Matt McLean | M 200 Freestyle | 3rd |
| Charlie Houchin | M 200 Freestyle | 4th |
| Ricky Berens | M 200 Freestyle | 5th |
| Connor Jaeger* | M 200 Freestyle* | 6th* |
| Breeja Larson | W 200 Breaststroke | 1st |
| Micah Lawrence | W 200 Breaststroke | 2nd |
| Kevin Cordes | M 200 Breaststroke | 1st |
| BJ Johnson | M 200 Breaststroke | 2nd |
| Missy Franklin | W 200 Backstroke | 1st |
| Liz Pelton | W 200 Backstroke | 2nd |
| Ryan Lochte | M 200 Backstroke | 1st |
| Tyler Clary | M 200 Backstroke | 2nd |
| Christine Magnuson | W 50 Fly | 1st |
| Eugene Godsoe | M 50 Fly | 1st |
If the second place finisher in the stroke 50s and non-Olympic distances doesn’t get an invite, how do the coaches select who the second swimmer will be at World Champs?
If there is somehow enough room on the roster (via multiples) after relay alternates are added, will an invite be extended to the non-Olympic event second place finishers?
W3T – nope. Those will be selected as they have been in the past. Winners of 100 stroke get first dibs on the 50’s, then the coaches basically pick if that person declines. Women’s 800 winner gets second spot in 1500 if she wants it, then coaches pick. Men’s 800 is based on better World Ranking between 400 and 1500 swimmers.
Godsoe is marked as 2nd in the 50 fly – he was first. The second place finisher in the 50 strokes don’t get an invite