2024 Longhorn Elite Invite
- May 15-18, 2024
- University of Texas, Austin, Texas
- Long Course Meters (50 meters), Prelims/Finals
- Meet Site
- Live Results
Stars from across the state of Texas were out in full-force for the first two days of the Longhorn Elite Invite in Austin. While the meet didn’t feature the training group of the Longhorns’ new Director of Swimming Bob Bowman, most of the big names from the old guards at Texas, SMU, the state’s top high school swimmers, and Rex Maurer, who swam for Stanford last season but is training in Austin in the lead-up to the Trials, were present.
The headline swim of the day didn’t come in the prelims/finals sessions, but instead was done in a time trial session on Thursday afternoon. There, Texas pro Carson Foster time-trialed a 400 IM, swimming 4:10.79.
That’s faster than he went at the off-beat World Championship in February by about two seconds and is his best time of the 2023 2024 season. It ranks him 9th in the world this year.
2023-2024 LCM Men 400 IM
MARCHAND
4:02.95
| 2 | Carson FOSTER | USA | 4:07.64 | 06/17 |
| 3 | TOMOYUKI MATSUSHITA | JPN | 4:08.62 | 07/28 |
| 4 | Lewis CLAREBURT | NZL | 4:08.71 | 05/11 |
| 5 | Max LITCHFIELD | GBR | 4:08.85 | 07/28 |
Foster finished 2nd in the 400 IM at both the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, in both cases behind the French World Record holder Leon Marchand. At the most-recent complete World Championship in 2023, Marchand was four seconds better than Foster.
Race Video:
Splits for the race were not available as of time of publishing.
In the day’s regular racing, a number of winners were close to best times a month out of the US Olympic Trials. Texas freshman Erin Gemmell won the 100 free in 54.36 (best: 54.13) and Texas A&M’s Chloe Stepanek was 2nd in 55.12.
Jillian Cox, who redshirted what would have been her freshman season at Texas and is an Austin native, became the meet’s first double winner. She swam 16:20.83 to win the 1500 on Wednesday, only 2.4 seconds off her best time; she followed that with a win in the 400 free in 4:08.95. She swam one 1650 yard free race this season, improving her best time by five seconds; she enters as a possible upset choice in the women’s 1500 free at the US Olympic Trials, but with Katie Ledecky and Katie Grimes sitting well clear of the field currently, she’s likely battling for spots on other international teams at Trials in Indy.
Erica Sullivan, the defending Olympic silver medalist in the 1500 free, was 2nd on Wednesday in 16:26.45; she scratched the 400 on Thursday.
Uber-talented Longhorn pro Shaine Casas continued his recent trend of coasting through prelims sessions, touching in 50.24, before accelerating to a win in final in 49.00. It took 49.07 to make it to the semifinals at the 2021 US Olympic Trials. American-Canadian-Italian-American sprinter Santo Condorelli touched 2nd in 49.22. That’s about three-tenths off where he’s been at both the March and April stops of the Pro Swim Series.
Other Day 1 Winners and Highlights:
- Rex Maurer, who is taking the quarter off from Stanford academically and has entered the NCAA transfer portal, won the 400 free on Thursday in 3:50.25. That is a season-best time for him and is about two-and-a-half shy of his best time from last August.
- After being officially nominated to the German Olympic Team this week, Anna Elendt won the 100 breast in Austin in 1:06.82. She beat out, among others, her training partner and the defending Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby, who touched 2nd in 1:07.69. For Elendt, that is .01 seconds shy of her April swim in San Antonio as a season-best. With Olympic qualifying complete, she’s on a very different timeline than most of the swimmers at this meet.
- America’s incumbent breaststroker Nic Fink (1:00.35) and Texas pro Jake Foster (1:00.88) finished 1st and 2nd in the men’s 100 breaststroke.
- The deep Texas women’s butterfly group was on display on Thursday evening, including the Pan American Games champion Dakota Luther, who won in 2:07.81 (two seconds better than she was at those Pan American Games). While not a best time, it’s close to the 2:07.86 that earned her 3rd at last summer’s World Championship Trials.
- Texas sophomore Ryan Branon won the 200 fly in 2:01.43 ahead of 16-year-old Minnesota Aquajet Nathan Carr (2:02.43).
- Sasha Lubavskiy won the boys’ 1500 free in 15:35.96. For the Texas undergrad and Russian native that is his first best time in that event since 2020.
“ but with Katie Ledecky and Katie Grimes sitting well clear of the field currently, she’s likely battling for spots on other international teams at Trials in Indy”
This is such a shady description for a woman who beat grimes to make a worlds team last year
I had him at:
fly – 57
back – 1:04
breast – 1:11
free – 58
His breaststroke looked really good. His back half was 5 seconds faster here than it was in Doha. I don’t think he will come close to Leon, but if he can put together a back half like that in Paris he should get the silver solidly
56.64
2:01.11
3:12.43
4:10.79
All from race video
I’d like to see him challenge Lochte’s 4:05 this summer after going back to back 4:06s
Article notes that Erica Sullivan scratched the 400 Free in the meet.
Isn’t that Erica in the heat Carson swam his time trial 400 IM; there was a woman(not named on the scoreboeard) whose stroke looked a lot like Erica who swam a 4:19.10 400 Free.
Yes, it was Erica
I wonder what’s the purpose of the time trial for Carson.
It’s so he can swim 2 free later on at this meet and not have to double with 2 free and 4 IM
I see.
Time trials are the new sectionals