Day 5 Prelims Live Recap

2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS

It’s a light prelims session this morning, with only three events on the docket. We’ll see 200s of the three non-freestyle strokes in reverse IM order.

First up is the women’s 200 breaststroke, highlighted by Lilly King and Kate Douglass. King already booked her ticket to Paris in the 100 breaststroke, while we haven’t seen much of Douglass this meet. The American record holder should advance safely to semis and will need to take on a double tonight in the 100 free final. 3rd seed Lydia Jacoby announced via Instagram she would be scratching the event after missing the team in the 100 breaststroke, but she still appears on the heat sheet.

The sole men’s event of the morning, the 200 backstroke, has a lot of converging story lines. Ryan Murphy is the favorite, but the second spot is up for grabs. Destin Lasco and Keaton Jones will look to make it a 1-2 for the Cal Bears again, while Jack Aikins is looking for redemption after two years of 3rd-place finishes at selection meets.

The session wraps up with the women’s 200 butterfly. After becoming the #5 performer in history in the 100 fly and retaking the 100 back world record, Regan Smith is the overwhelming favorite to claim a second Olympic appearance in this event. She leads a herd of Longhorn women looking to stake their claim, including Dakota Luther, Emma Sticklen, and Kelly Pash.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE — PRELIMS

World Record: 2:17.55 — Evgeniia Chikunova (RUS), 2023
American Record: 2:19.30 — Kate Douglass, 2024
U.S. Open Record: 2:19.30 — Kate Douglass (USA), 2024
World Junior Record: 2:19.64 – Viktoriya Zeynep Gunes (TUR), 2015
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: 2:21.07 — Annie Lazor
2024 Olympic Qualifying Time: 2:23.91

Semifinals Qualifiers:

Gabrielle Rose, the oldest competitor at these Trials, was back in action in heat 1 of the women’s 200 breaststroke. She showed impressive closing speed in the final 50, torching her entry time by over 1.5-seconds (2:30.13) and winning the heat.