New world record set at US Olympic Swim Trials on Tuesday
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — New world records are being set inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Gretchen Walsh set one on Saturday in the women’s 100-meter butterfly semifinals and a second one was set on Tuesday.
Regan Smith reclaimed her spot on the throne, winning the women’s 100-meter backstroke final with a time of 57.13, eclipsing Kaylee McKeown’s world record by two tenths of a second. Smith set the world record back in 2019, but was beaten by McKeown in 2021.
Smith wasn’t on pace the entire race. The world record line was in front of Smith in the last 25 meters, but Smith charged hard at the end to break the record.
After the race, she had a beaming smile and held back tears as she hugged two other swimmers in the event.
There were also plenty of Indiana swimmers that dove into the pool to chase their dreams.
Luke Whitlock, an 18-year-old from Noblesville, finished second in the men’s 800m freestyle final. It’s likely he will make it to the Olympics, but it will not be official until the end of the trials on Sunday.
The winner of each event automatically qualifies for the Olympics and the runner-up in each event is likely to be selected as well.
Two Indiana natives, Blake Pieroni from Chesterton and Drew Kibler from Carmel, competed in the men’s 100-meter freestyle semifinals. They both did not qualify for the finals. However, Kibler will still be heading to Paris after qualifying for the men’s 200-meter freestyle on Monday.
Kristina Paegle, an Indiana University swimmer from Bloomington, competed in the women’s 100-meter freestyle semifinals, but did not qualify for the finals.
Three other swimmers from IU competed in semifinals today (Anna Peplowski in the women’s 100-meter Freestyle as well as Jassen Yep and Josh Matheny in the men’s 200-meter breaststroke). Matheny was the only one to qualify for the finals, finishing in third overall between the two semifinal races.
Notre Dame swimmer Chris Guiliano was the fastest of the men’s 100-meter freestyle semifinal, qualifying in the top spot for the final on Wednesday.
Through Tuesday, there have been three Indiana natives to officially qualify. Kibler, Aaron Shackell from Carmel in the men’s 400-meter freestyle, and Lilly King from Evansville in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke. This will be King’s third Olympics, the first female swimmer from IU to compete in three Olympic Games.
The U.S. Olympic Trials – Swimming will go through Sunday, June 23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Lilly King will kick off her prelims in the women’s 200-meter breaststroke on Wednesday.