INDIANAPOLIS – Caeleb Dressel secured his second individual victory in Paris, giving him another chance to shine after his outstanding performance at the last Olympic Games.
Also keep an eye on Kate Douglass. She could become one of America's biggest stars in swimming. And of course Katie Ledecky will be swimming in a number of events.
Dressel, who won five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, took first place in the men's 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Saturday night.
Dressel followed up his triumph in the 50-meter freestyle with a winning time of 50.19 seconds, giving him the chance to defend another of the gold medals he won in Tokyo.
“I think I performed all my swimming as well as I could,” he said.
Douglass secured her third individual Olympic participation with a victory in the 200-meter individual medley.
She was neck and neck with Alex Walsh in the final corner, but no one could keep up with Douglass in the freestyle section.
She finished with a time of 2:06.79, while Walsh secured second place at the Olympics with a time of 2:07.86.
Douglass lived up to her reputation as one of the most versatile swimmers in the world, also winning the preliminary heats in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 100-meter freestyle.
“I'm really happy about it,” Douglass said. “I wanted to win all three events at the meet, but I didn't think I could do it, so I'm glad I did.”
Ledecky raced to her fourth victory in the heats, winning the 800 freestyle in 8 minutes, 14.12 seconds. Paige Madden took second place with a time of 8:20.71.
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Ledecky plans to drop the 200m freestyle from her Olympic schedule, but will compete in the 400, 800 and 1,500m freestyle, as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Dressel didn't come close to his world record of 49.45, which he set at the last Olympic Games, but he was in the lead the whole time and was about half a body length ahead of 17-year-old Thomas Heilman, who took second place for Paris with 50.80.
Dressel will also swim up to three relays at the Summer Games, which would bring him close to the six-event program in Tokyo. The only event he did not win three years ago was the mixed relay.
“It's hard to get through the exams,” Dressel said. “That's really the hardest part.”
The only individual gold medal that Dressel cannot defend in Paris is the 100 m freestyle. He missed it with a third place in his first competition in these events.
After quitting swimming in the middle of the 2022 World Championships, resulting in a long break that he needed to rediscover his love for the sport, Dressel will head to these Olympics with a little less hype than he did three years ago when he was hailed as the next Michael Phelps.
Dressel is well aware that others around the world have posted faster times in his competitions this year. He readily admits that he may never swim a personal best again in his career. But he's still a guy who knows how to present himself when the spotlight is brightest, as it will be in Paris.
“I know I'm the defending champion,” Dressel said. “There's no getting around that. But I think I'm chasing some of these guys, too.”
Perhaps the most exciting thing about these trials for him was that his four-month-old son, August Wilder, was sitting in the stands at Lucas Oil Stadium with his wife Meghan.
“My son was able to watch me make the Olympic team,” said Dressel, beaming from ear to ear. “He won't remember it. But I'll tell him, trust me. I have pictures to prove it.”
Heilman will also compete in the 200-meter butterfly, an event he won in the trials, making him the youngest man to make the U.S. swimming team since 15-year-old Michael Phelps in 2000.
“The butterfly is in good hands with this guy,” Dressel said, pointing to Heilman. “He's scary, scary.”
Walsh will be allowed to swim at the Olympic Games alongside her sister Gretchen and finally made the team on the penultimate night of qualifying competitions.
“This means the world to me,” said Alex Walsh, who competed in Tokyo without her sister. “I didn't know if I would make it to Paris after she did it. This is a dream we've been dreaming of for so long.”
Simone Manuel, the first black swimmer to win an individual gold medal, has one last chance to make the team in an individual ranking on the final night of competition.
Manuel had already secured her third Olympic participation as a member of the 4×100 m freestyle relay, but with the fourth fastest time (24.51) in the semifinal on Saturday evening, she moved into the final in the 50 m freestyle on Sunday.
Gretchen Walsh was the best qualifier with 24.06, just ahead of Torri Huske with 24.09. Abbey Weitzeil, who like Manuel has already secured a place on the Olympic team for the third time as a relay swimmer, was next with 24.48.
