Doha 2024 Worlds Qualifying: Where Do the American Women Stand?

Now that USA Swimming has released its selection criteria for the 2024 World Championships, let’s take a look at the limited options for the American women next February in Doha, Qatar.

The U.S. will bring a maximum of just 14 men and 14 women to the meet using a simple selection procedure: no trials, just one swimmer per individual Olympic event based on the top time clocked between last October to November 1 of this year. However, if the top 10 swimmers in a given event opt out, that event won’t have anyone selected.

• Related: Doha 2024 Worlds Qualifying: Where Do the American Men Stand?

If the American women’s roster was assembled today and all top swimmers accepted their invites, the team would feature seven swimmers:

• Abbey Weitzeil (50 free)
• Kate Douglass (100 free, 200 IM)
• Katie Ledecky (200 free, 400 free, 800 free, 1500 free)
• Regan Smith (50 back, 100 back, 200 back, 200 fly)
• Lilly King (50 breast, 100 breast, 200 breast)
• Torri Huske (50 fly, 100 fly)
• Katie Grimes (400 IM)

But there’s a chance that many of the top American women skip the 2024 World Championships with NCAA conference championships the same month and the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials taking place four months later.

Since so many swimmers are prioritizing other meets, there are plenty of opportunities for American women to claim major international medals in Doha and earn prize money that could extend their swimming careers. Major absences could clear the way for a veteran such as Rachel Bernhardt, a 28-year-old Drexel graduate working as an occupational therapist in North Carolina who is ranked 5th in the 100 breast (1:07.38) this season behind Lilly King, Lydia Jacoby, Kaitlyn Dobler, and Kate Douglass. Or perhaps there will be an opening for high schoolers such as Anna Moesch, Alex Shackell, Kayla Han, Kate Hurst, Leah Shackley, Teagan O’Dell, Piper Enge, and Lilla Bognar — all of whom are currently ranked inside the top 10 of an individual Olympic event during the 2022-23 season.

Women’s 50 Free (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 25.04)

1. Abbey Weitzeil – 24.00
2. Gretchen Walsh – 24.31
3. Kate Douglass – 24.40
4. Olivia Smoliga – 24.48
5. Catie Deloof – 24.68
6. Gabi Albiero – 24.69
7. Torri Huske – 24.72
8. Grace Cooper – 24.77
9. Maxine Parker – 24.83
10. Anna Moesch – 24.87

Women’s 100 Free (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 54.25)

1. Kate Douglass – 52.57
2. Abbey Weitzeil – 52.92
3. Gretchen Walsh – 53.14
4. Olivia Smoliga – 53.28
5. Torri Huske – 53.41
6. Maxine Parker – 53.51
7. Bella Sims – 53.73
8. Catie Deloof – 53.75
9. Katie Ledecky – 54.01
10. Alex Shackell – 54.08

Women’s 200 Free (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 1:58.66)

1. Katie Ledecky – 1:54.96
2. Claire Weinstein – 1:55.26
3. Bella Sims – 1:55.45
4. Erin Gemmell – 1:55.97
5. Alex Shackell – 1:56.70
6. Leah Smith – 1:56.91
7. Anna Peplowski – 1:57.02
8. Paige Madden – 1:57.41
9. Katie Grimes – 1:57.55
10. Alex Walsh – 1:57.84

Women’s 400 Free (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 4:10.57)

1. Katie Ledecky – 3:58.73
2. Bella Sims – 4:03.25
3. Leah Smith – 4:03.85
4. Katie Grimes – 4:05.18
5. Claire Weinstein – 4:06.24
6. Jillian Cox – 4:06.60
7. Paige Madden – 4:06.78
8. Erin Gemmell – 4:06.93
9. Cavan Gormsen – 4:08.12
10. Hali Flickinger – 4:08.69

Women’s 800 Free (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 8:37.90)

1. Katie Ledecky – 8:07.07
2. Jillian Cox – 8:19.73
3. Claire Weinstein – 8:21.00
4. Katie Grimes – 8:21.87
5. Leah Smith – 8:21.88
6. Kensey McMahon – 8:25.97
7. Bella Sims – 8:29.85
8. Paige Madden – 8:32.46
9. Rachel Stege – 8:32.71
10. Kayla Han – 8:32.88

Women’s 1500 Free (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 16:29.57)

1. Katie Ledecky – 15:26.27
2. Katie Grimes – 15:56.27
3. Kensey McMahon – 16:07.78
4. Claire Weinstein – 16:09.85
5. Kayla Han – 16:16.94
6. Erica Sullivan – 16:16.94
7. Jillian Cox – 16:18.40
8. Kate Hurst – 16:18.55
9. Mariah Denigan – 16:19.02
10. Bella Sims – 16:19.29

Women’s 100 Back (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 1:00.59)

1. Regan Smith – 57.68
2. Katharine Berkoff – 58.01
3. Claire Curzan – 58.59
4. Olivia Smoliga – 58.92
5. Isabelle Stadden – 59.07
6. Kennedy Noble – 59.11
7. Rhyan White – 59.50
8. Leah Shackley – 59.55
9. Phoebe Bacon – 59.61
10. Teagan O’Dell – 59.73

Women’s 200 Back (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 2:11.08)

1. Regan Smith – 2:03.80
2. Rhyan White – 2:05.77
3. Claire Curzan – 2:06.35
4. Kennedy Noble – 2:06.54
5. Phoebe Bacon – 2:06.59
6. Isabelle Stadden – 2:07.69
7. Leah Shackley – 2:08.42
8. Reilly Tiltmann – 2:08.65
9. Teagan O’Dell – 2:09.09
10. Katie Grimes – 2:09.53

Women’s 100 Breast (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 1:07.35)

1. Lilly King – 1:04.75
2. Lydia Jacoby – 1:05.16
3. Kaitlyn Dobler – 1:05.48
4. Kate Douglass – 1:07.07
5. Rachel Bernhardt – 1:07.38
6. Emma Weber – 1:07.39
7. Annie Lazor – 1:07.70
8. Kaelyn Gridley – 1:07.87
9. Piper Enge – 1:07.98
10. Miranda Tucker – 1:07.98

Women’s 200 Breast (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 2:25.91)

1. Lilly King – 2:20.95
2. Kate Douglass – 2:21.22
3. Ella Nelson – 2:24.89
4. Alex Walsh – 2:25.25
5. Annie Lazor – 2:25.71
6. Kaitlyn Dobler – 2:26.47
7. Lydia Jacoby – 2:26.57
8. Anna Keating – 2:26.71
9. Kaelyn Gridley – 2:26.80
10. Emma Weber – 2:27.08

Women’s 100 Fly (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 58.33)

1. Torri Huske – 56.18
2. Gretchen Walsh – 56.34
3. Kate Douglass – 56.43
4. Regan Smith – 56.60
5. Claire Curzan – 56.61
6. Kelly Pash – 57.53
7. Alex Shackell – 57.59
8. Olivia Bray – 57.64
9. Leah Shackley – 57.98
10. Gabi Albiero – 58.03

Women’s 200 Fly (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 2:09.21)

1. Regan Smith – 2:03.87
2. Dakota Luther – 2:06.79
3. Hali Flickinger – 2:06.80
4. Tess Howley – 2:06.85
5. Lindsay Looney – 2:07.35
6. Alex Shackell – 2:07.95
7. Kelly Pash – 2:08.00
8. Emma Sticklen – 2:08.28
9. Katie Grimes – 2:08.77
10. Rachel Klinker – 2:09.87

Women’s 200 IM (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 2:12.98)

1. Kate Douglass – 2:07.09
2. Alex Walsh – 2:07.89
3. Regan Smith – 2:08.48
4. Torri Huske – 2:09.75
5. Leah Hayes – 2:10.03
6. Bella Sims – 2:12.15
7. Phoebe Bacon – 2:12.27
8. Beata Nelson – 2:12.38
9. Isabel Ivey – 2:12.56
10. Katie Grimes – 2:12.66

Women’s 400 IM (World Aquatics ‘A’ cut: 4:43.06)

1. Katie Grimes – 4:31.41
2. Alex Walsh – 4:34.46
3. Katie Ledecky – 4:36.04
4. Emma Weyant – 4:37.76
5. Leah Hayes – 4:38.45
6. Leah Smith – 4:39.83
7. Lilla Bognar – 4:40.97
8. Justina Kozan – 4:40.97
9. Kayla Han – 4:42.32
10. Megan Van Berkom – 4:42.57

Priority #1. The first priority will be comprised of the Available Swimmers who has the first fastest Time in each Individual Olympic Event. Limitation on Selection: USA Swimming will not Select Available Swimmers with Times slower than the 10th fastest Time among Available Swimmers in each Individual Olympic Event.

In order for the U.S. to field two swimmers in an event, there will need to be a second swimmer on the roster who has achieved the ‘A’ standard within World Aquatics’ qualifying window (Oct. 1, 2022 – Dec. 19, 2023). If there is only one swimmer on the roster with an ‘A’ cut in an event, the U.S. will only have one entrant in that event.