2021 U.S. Olympic Trials: 5 Storylines to Watch
By the conclusion of the Wave II meet on Sunday, June 20th, the Olympic swimming roster for the United States of America will be filled.
Tristan DeWitt on Subpar College Season: “I really am done losing”
Tristan DeWitt was in control of this race for the majority of its duration, only losing the lead on the backstroke lap.
Kate McCarville on Win #2: “You definitely still get that adrenaline rush”
In the first and only 9-person A final of the meet, SPA’s Kate McCarville battled home on freestyle to overtake Ella Bathurst, roaring to a new lifetime best
Jack Armstrong Explains How He Procrastinated His Way Into 50 Free Champ
BATS’ Jack Armstrong posted a lifetime best in a super tight finish, advancing on to the Wave II meet in his last individual event of the meet
Missy Cundiff on Going from 46th Seed to 1st Place Finisher in the Women’s 50fr
Missy Cundiff expressed that she had few expectations coming into the meet, and certainly didn’t see herself jumping 45 spots in the psych sheet
1500 Champion Kristin Cornish: “I didn’t know what lap I was on”
Kristin Cornish made the most out of the opportunity, getting on her pace early, and doing the best job of anyone in the field at holding her pace
How Watching the 800 from the Stands Helped Joshua Brown Win the 1500
Winner Joshua Brown did an excellent job of swimming his race as he negative split his swim, posting a 7:48.49 on the first 750m, and coming home in 7:47.55
Sophie Brison on Olympic Trials Wave I Win: “I had no idea I was gonna do that”
Sophie Brison led the race from the 2nd 50 on through the rest of the race. The swim for Brison marks a best time by 0.6 seconds
Micah Slaton on Working 2 Jobs, Finishing School and Training During Pandemic
In a very tight final, Micah Slaton and Aaron Sequiera’s well-timed finishes led them to the top times in the heat, both dropping PRs in prelims and finals
Sally Tafuto on Continuing Ohio State’s Momentum Train in 400 Free
Ohio State’s Sally Tafuto swam her race perfectly, roaring into the leading on the final 100 of the race, and shattering her personal best.
Colby Mefford Admits He Likes to “let the audience worry a little bit”
Colby Mefford was in dead last at the 100 mark but turned on the jets coming home, roaring to a new lifetime best and a victory in the 200 back
Nikki Venema Goes Through Emotions of Ive League Cancelled Season to OT Champ
Nikki Venema was electric on the back half of this race, pulling ahead through the final 50 to leave no doubt she would punch a ticket to Wave II
Ivan Kurakin on Making Wave I a Week Ago to Winning It
Kurakin was in the lead from start to finish, and although it looked like he would get caught on the 2nd-to-last 50, he managed to kick it into gear
Zhier Fan Explains Winning 100 Breast Race Strategy
Zhier Fan and Reid Mikuta were the only swimmers to touch under 1:02, were also the only swimmers under the Wave II standard
Heather Maccausland Breaks Down 2+ Second Drop in 100 Breast
Heather Maccausland dropped over 2 seconds in the event over the course of today, breaking 1:10 and 1:09 for the first times in her career