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Meet The 380 Men Who Have Qualified For The 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials

With the Olympic season underway, it’s time to take stock of where the qualifications for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials are at.

The qualifying window for the event opened on November 30, 2022. With a huge stadium to fill, we suspect that USA Swimming is targeting a field on the bigger end of the typical range, but that will mean a lot of work in the next nine months, the time when swimmers really seem to rise to the occasion.

So far, we count 380 men who have met the standards for the 2024 Trials in at least one event.

2024 US Olympic Trials Standards:

WOMEN EVENT MEN
25.69 50m Freestyle 22.79
55.79 100m Freestyle 49.99
2:00.89 200m Freestyle 1:49.99
4:15.49 400m Freestyle 3:55.59
8:45.79 800m Freestyle 8:09.69
16:45.69 1500m Freestyle 15:39.89
1:01.89 100m Backstroke 55.69
2:13.59 200m Backstroke 2:01.69
1:10.29 100m Breaststroke 1:02.19
2:31.69 200m Breaststroke 2:15.99
1:00.19 100m Butterfly 53.59
2:13.69 200m Butterfly 2:00.49
2:16.09 200m Individual Medley 2:03.49
4:49.89 400m Individual Medley 4:25.19

Let’s learn a little bit more about who is qualifying.

Swimmers With The Most Events

There are currently 10 men who have qualified for the Olympic Trials in at least five events. A lot of these aren’t a surprise – IMers, freestylers with range, or stroke swimmers who also are good at freestyle races.

I think some people will be surprised to see middle-distance ace Kieran Smith at the top of this list with eight (my guess would’ve been the versatile Shaine Casas) but remember —he was recruited to Florida as a backstroker and IMer, so his specialty belies his versatility.

Full Name Club LSC Event Count
1 Smith, Kieran Ridgefield Aquatic Club CT 8
2 Casas, Shaine Longhorn Aquatics ST 7
3 Diehl, Daniel YMCA of Cumberland MD 6
3 Shackell, Aaron Carmel Swim Club IN 6
3 Julian, Trenton Mission Viejo Nadadores CA 6
3 Foster, Carson Mason Manta Rays OH 6
3 Maurer, Rex Rose Bowl Aquatics CA 6
3 Litherland, Jay Sun Devil Swimming AZ 6
3 Kalisz, Chase Sun Devil Swimming AZ 6
10 Heilman, Thomas Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA VA 5
10 Grothe, Zane Unattached SE 5
10 Dahlgren, Jack Team Triumph MV 5
10 Nelson, Baylor Aggie Swim Club GU 5
10 Jett, Gabriel California Aquatics PC 5
10 Burns, Brendan Indiana Swim Club IN 5
10 Lucas, Cooper Lakeside Aquatic Club NT 5
10 Albiero, Nicolas Cardinal Aquatics KY 5
10 Finke, Bobby Saint Petersburg Aquatics FL 5
10 Ellis, Luke Sandpipers Of Nevada CA 5

Kieran Smith‘s Qualified Events:

  • 100 free – 48.58
  • 200 free – 1:45.63
  • 400 free – 3:45.77
  • 800 free – 8:01.14
  • 100 back – 55.10
  • 200 back – 1:58.43
  • 200 IM – 1:57.99
  • 400 IM – 4:19.67

Beyond Smith and Casas, we see some of the other usual suspects high on this list, such as medley specialists Carson FosterChase Kalisz and Jay Litherland, but it’s also interesting to see some of the next generation qualifying in five or more events. Daniel DiehlAaron Shackell and Rex Maurer all have six qualified events, and Thomas Heilman has five.

By Club

Don’t get mad at me, y’all choose who you represent.

The athletes on this list represent 169 different clubs. That doesn’t include nine unattached swimmers.

Most of the teams at the top are, unsurprisingly, tied to colleges. That’s where most Olympic Trials qualifiers train.

The top club not attached to a college is Texas Ford Aquatics with six qualifiers – though that includes Coley Stickels‘ pro group.

The Mason Manta Rays are the top club team without a college or pro group affiliation, but again, that includes Texas-trained Carson Foster and Jake Foster.

Ultimately, lack of consistency in club representation makes the data kind of useless, but fun to look at anyway.

Club Swimmers
1 Wolfpack Elite 19
2 California Aquatics 16
3 Indiana Swim Club 13
3 Longhorn Aquatics 13
5 Sun Devil Swimming 12
6 University of Florida 9
6 Unattached 9
8 Ohio State University 8
9 Athens Bulldog Swim Club 7
9 Aggie Swim Club 7

By Event

This one is what’s really interesting. In the past, the 50 free has consistently been the most-qualified-for event.

But not so far this year. This year, it’s the individual medley races. The 400 IM is especially surprising, because that, along with the distance freestyles, is usually the least-qualified-for event.

Event Qualifiers
200 IM LCM 76
400 IM LCM 69
100 FR LCM 63
100 FL LCM 60
200 BK LCM 59
400 FR LCM 58
100 BR LCM 57
800 FR LCM 56
100 BK LCM 56
200 FR LCM 55
200 FL LCM 52
1500 FR LCM 51
200 BR LCM 51
50 FR LCM 50

Perhaps the 200 and 400 IM events ranking atop the heap thus far makes sense given that they were the two events that saw the smallest improvement in terms of standard percentage-wise relative to the 2021 Trials cuts (every standard got faster to some degree).

The 50 free got faster by 1.72 percent, dropping from 23.19 to 22.79, which helps us understand why there are only 50 qualifiers in the event thus far. In 2021, the men’s 50 free had the most qualified swimmers (including women’s events) at 167.

NUMBER OF QUALIFIERS VERSUS 2021

The 400 IM is also the only event that has more qualifiers so far for the 2024 Trials compared to 2021.

Event Qualified Swimmers In 2021 Qualified Swimmers In 2024* Difference
50 Free 167 50 -117
100 Free 99 63 -36
200 Free 71 55 -16
400 Free 82 58 -24
800 Free 64 56 -8
1500 Free 57 51 -6
100 Back 125 56 -69
200 Back 91 59 -32
100 Breast 137 57 -80
200 Breast 87 51 -36
100 Fly 109 60 -49
200 Fly 78 52 -26
200 IM 82 76 -6
400 IM 60 69 +9

*Through September 28, 2023

By LSC

So far, 42 out of the 59 LSCs in USA Swimming are represented among the Olympic Trials qualifiers, with the North Carolina, Indiana, and Southern California LSCs leading the way.

Places with big pro groups and elite college teams (where athletes represent their schools, not their home club) do often have an outsized number of swims versus swimmers. Southern California, for example, checks this box. More elite swimmers are more likely to have more qualifying times, so one explanation for these numbers is that “swimmers” shows depth, whereas “swims” represents more elite top-end talent.

Arizona is a good example of that in action.

All of the same caveats as above.

LSC Swimmers Swims
NC 33 66
IN 28 71
CA 28 75
PC 24 54
FL 24 48
OH 18 34
SE 18 33
AZ 17 50
VA 16 32
ST 16 40
GA 15 37
NT 14 34
KY 14 32
GU 12 27
MI 12 20
MR 9 19
CO 7 9
WI 7 7
IL 6 6
MN 6 12
FG 5 13
NJ 5 6
PV 4 5
MD 4 9
MV 4 10
NE 4 7
SI 3 5
LA 3 5
MA 3 7
PN 3 5
OR 2 4
SN 2 5
IA 2 2
MW 2 2
IE 2 5
CT 1 8
AD 1 2
UT 1 1
OK 1 1
SC 1 1
US 1 1
AM 1 1
WV 1 2

TOP SEEDS

The influx of new blood atop the U.S. swimming scene is on display as we look at the current top seeds in each event, as only two swimmers, Bobby Finke and Ryan Murphy, two of the world’s best in their respective disciplines, hold the fastest time in multiple events.

Event Swimmer Time Meet Club LSC
50 Free Ryan Held 21.50 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships New York Athletic Club MR
100 Free Jack Alexy 47.31 2023 World Champs California Aquatics PC
200 Free Luke Hobson 1:44.87 2023 World Champs Longhorn Aquatics ST
400 Free David Johnston 3:45.75 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships Longhorn Aquatics ST
800 Free Bobby Finke 7:38.67 2023 World Champs Saint Petersburg Aquatics FL
1500 Free Bobby Finke 14:31.59 2023 World Champs Saint Petersburg Aquatics FL
100 Back Ryan Murphy 52.02 2023 World Champs California Aquatics PC
200 Back Ryan Murphy 1:54.83 2023 World Champs California Aquatics PC
100 Breast Nic Fink 58.36 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships Metro Atlanta Aquatic Club GA
200 Breast Matt Fallon 2:07.71 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships Athens Bulldog Swim Club GA
100 Fly Dare Rose 50.46 2023 World Champs California Aquatics PC
200 Fly Thomas Heilman 1:53.82 2023 World Champs Cavalier Aquatics/Piedmont Family YMCA VA
200 IM Shaine Casas 1:56.06 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Westmont Longhorn Aquatics ST
400 IM Carson Foster 4:06.56 2023 World Champs Mason Manta Rays OH

FULL LIST OF QUALIFIERS

The qualifying window for the Olympic Trials will close on May 30, 2024. The event will then take place from June 15-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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Beth
1 year ago

Fun read! Thanks for writing it!

DK99
1 year ago

Keiran Smith could be so talented but has very average times in all of his events

Andrew
Reply to  DK99
1 year ago

Agreed. He doesn’t have the top end speed or the extra gear that all the 200 free guys have on the international stage

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  Andrew
1 year ago

They could be because the top end 200 guys are more 100/200 guys where he’s more of a 200/400 guy. The 200 has become more of a sprint.

Hank
Reply to  DK99
1 year ago

If Kieran had to specialize in one event it seems like the 400free would be his best shot no?

Anonymous
1 year ago

Not to nit-pick, but there are 19 men qualified for 5+ events, not 10. Just because there are multiple with 5 doesn’t count them as 1 person.

Can’t wait until next summer!!

Andrew
1 year ago

Kieran Smith qualified in 8 events… and might not make the team in any of them

‘Murica
Reply to  Andrew
1 year ago

He’s easily making the 4×2, don’t get ahead of yourself

Winter Apple
Reply to  Andrew
1 year ago

He’ll make the 800 FR

Andrew
Reply to  Winter Apple
1 year ago

he’s gotten worse since 2021 and with the rise of the young guys, nothing is a certainty anymore

Spieker Pool Lap Swimmer
1 year ago

Can one qualify with SCM or SCY times?

Hswimmer
1 year ago

Zane Grothe is honestly the most impressive to me!!

Mr. Saucy Pants
1 year ago

#3 Daniel Diehl babyyyy

swammer1234567
1 year ago

what is the new york athletic club

ScovaNotiaSwimmer
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 year ago

And not to be confused (as some were when Liendo repped his home club at Trials, lol) with the North York Aquatic Club in Toronto.

JimSwim22
Reply to  Braden Keith
1 year ago

They have been doing it for over 100 years

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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