2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS
- When:
- Wave I Dates: June 4-7, 2021
- Wave II Dates: June 13-20, 2021
- Prelims: 10am CDT | Finals: 7pm CDT (8PM finals on Friday & Saturday)
- Where: CHI Health Center / Omaha, Nebraska
- 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifying Cuts
- Wave I & II Event Order
- LCM (50m)
- Day 8 Finals Live Stream (NBC)
- Psych Sheets
- Wave II Live Results
- Day 8 Finals Heat Sheet
Reported by James Sutherland.
WOMEN’S 50 FREE FINAL
- World Record: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 23.67 (2017)
- American Record: Simone Manuel – 23.97 (2017)
- US Open Record: Simone Manuel (USA) – 24.10 (2018)
- World Junior Record: Claire Curzan (USA) – 24.17 (2021)
- 2016 Olympic Champion: Pernille Blume (DEN) – 24.07
- 2016 US Olympic Trials Champion: Abbey Weitzeil – 24.28
- Wave I Cut: 25.99
- Wave II Cut: 25.65
- FINA ‘A’ Cut: 24.77
- Simone Manuel (ALTO), 24.29
- Abbey Weitzeil (CAL), 24.30
- Torri Huske (AAC), 24.46
Simone Manuel has always thrived under pressure, and she delivered in spades in tonight’s women’s 50 free final.
Manuel, 24, edged out a tightly-bunched field at the finishing wall in a time of 24.29, qualifying her for the U.S. Olympic team after missing the 100 free final.
Manuel’s time is her fastest since the 2019 World Championships, where she was the gold medalist in a time of 24.05.
Taking the runner-up spot was Abbey Weitzeil, meaning the two women that represented the U.S. in this event in Rio will do so again in Tokyo.
Weitzeil lowered her best time for the first time since the 2016 Trials in the semis in 24.27, and was just a touch off of that tonight in 24.30 to add a second individual event to her program. Weitzeil won the 100 freestyle a few nights ago.
18-year-old Torri Huske, who has already qualified for the team in the 100 fly, finished two one-hundredths off of her National Age Group Record in 24.46 for third, while Linnea Mack re-lowers her best time from the semis for fourth in 24.49.
Mack was disqualified in the prelims for a false start, but it ended up getting overturned.
The bottom half of the field all added a bit of time from the semis, with another 18-year-old, Gretchen Walsh, next up in fifth at 24.74. Walsh was one of five finalists that set a PB in last night’s semis, hitting a 24.64.
The others were Weitzeil, Mack, Catie Deloof and Erika Brown. Deloof (24.80) and Brown (24.93) finished seventh and eighth, with Kate Douglass (24.78) sixth.
Welcome to the “big leagues”!
Add 8 years and then you will see just how long is meet feels!
It would have been less long if she had wisely dropped the 200 free and the 200 IM from her schedule.
She didn’t swim the 100 free fresh and didn’t perform as she could do it. That’s my main regret regarding her week.
Other than that congrats to Torri for doing the performance of the meet on the women’s side with the 100 fly American record. She looked so easy in the water. Looks like she was flying. Good in a fly race.
Wisely dropped 200 IM? She finished 4th and was only a second out of making it in the event. The point is a little stronger on 200 free although the thought was that she had a legit shot at getting on the 4×200 relay.
Why so many DQ overturns at this meet? It begs the question… how many DQs should be overturned at other meets that don’t have video to review? Or are these OT overturns not really legit?