Before America’s fastest swimmers can compete at the Paris Olympics, they have to make the U.S. team. Many of them say that’s more difficult and stressful than racing at the Summer Games. The team will be determined at this week’s Olympic swimming trials, where more than 1,000 athletes have qualified to compete in a temporary pool constructed in the Indianapolis Colts’ stadium.
When: June 15-23
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
The schedule: Preliminary heats 10 a.m., semifinals/finals 7 p.m.
TV: All night sessions will be televised live on NBC. The Peacock streaming service will also show all finals and semifinals, along with qualifying heats each day.
How to make the team: The top two finishers in each event will earn Olympic berths, provided they have met the Olympic qualifying time. In the 100- and 200-meter freestyle, additional athletes who finish in the top six will be added to the roster for relay events. The team can include a maximum of 26 men and 26 women.
Regan Smith’s schedule: Lakeville native Regan Smith headlines the Minnesotans competing at the trials. A three-time medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, Smith, 22, will swim four events in her quest for a second appearance at the Summer Games.
Smith is the No. 3 seed in her first race, the 100 butterfly (prelims/semifinals Saturday, final Sunday). She is the top seed and American record holder in her other three events: the 100 backstroke (prelims/semis Monday, final Tuesday), the 200 butterfly (prelims/semis Wednesday, final Thursday) and the 200 back (prelims/semis Thursday, final Friday). Her toughest day will be Thursday; the evening session begins with the 200 fly final, and the 200 back semifinal is the fifth race that night.
More Minnesota connections: Several other swimmers with Minnesota ties will compete at the trials. Those among the top 20 seeds in women’s events include Isabelle Stadden of Blaine (No. 5 seed, 100 back; No. 6, 200 back); Caroline Larsen of Eden Prairie’s Foxjets Swim Team (No. 17, 100 fly) and the Gophers’ Megan Van Berkom (No. 9, 400 individual medley; No. 15, 200 fly) and Katie McCarthy (No. 19, 400 IM). Three other current or former Gophers are top-20 seeds on the men’s side: Max McHugh (No. 12, 100 breaststroke), Kaiser Neverman (No. 14, 200 fly) and Chris Nagy (No. 15, 1,500 free; No. 20, 800 free).
About the pool: The past four Olympic swimming trials were held in temporary pools constructed inside a basketball arena in Omaha. USA Swimming wanted to go bigger, so it moved this year’s trials to the NFL stadium in Indianapolis. The setup includes a 50-meter competition pool and two warmup pools. Spectator capacity is about 30,000, far exceeding Omaha’s capacity of about 14,000.
