2016 Trials Throwback: Kelsi Worrell Follows Up Great Short Course Career With First Olympic Berth

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Each day during the pre-scheduled days of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, Swimming World will take its readers back four years to the 2016 Trials in Omaha to recap each event, and will offer some insight into what the events could look like in 2021.

Heading into the 2016 Olympic Trials, Louisville grad Kelsi Worrell was the fastest woman in short course yards in the 100 butterfly as she was the only swimmer to break 50 seconds in the event, winning the 2015 & 2016 NCAA titles in the process. But Worrell didn’t have a lot of long course experience. The year prior, she won the Pan American Games gold medal and was the fastest swimmer in the nation with a 57.24.

Worrell was primed to show she was not only just a great short course swimmer, but could convert to the long course pool as a potential medal contender in Rio. The United States was hoping she would be able to translate to long course. After taking the gold at the 2011 & 2013 Worlds in the medley relay as well as the 2012 Olympics, the U.S. had taken a backseat to Australia and China in 2015, lacking a great butterfly split to compare to both teams.

In came Worrell, who was ready to prove herself and give the U.S. a much needed boost on the medley relays. She was seeded second behind former world record holder and reigning Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer, who was at the end of her official comeback after having a baby in 2014.

Vollmer was also known as “a momma on a mission” as she was hoping to prove she could still get back to world-class racing shape after having a baby. Vollmer was shooting for her third trip to the Olympic Games, after first making the team in 2004 as a 16-year-old high school junior, and again in 2012 where she won the 100 butterfly in world-record time. She was a big sentimental favorite to make the 2016 team.

If there was a potential spoiler, it could have come from 2014 national champion Kendyl Stewart, who had represented the U.S. at the 2014 Pan Pacs and 2015 Worlds. She was the third seed on the psych sheet and if she was 100% on at Trials, then she could have played a factor into the top two. Not to be forgotten was 2012 Olympian Claire Donahue, who was seeded fifth on the psych sheet, and also swam at the 2013 Worlds, and rising star Cassidy Bayer, the 16-year-old charge from the same club that produced Katie Ledecky.

But in reality, Worrell and Vollmer were the two heavy favorites and it would have been shocking if either of them were not first or second.

The Race

Kelsi Worrell had cruised through the heats and the semifinals as the only swimmer to break 57 seconds in the heats. Vollmer was right behind her as the only one to break 58 in the heats and dipped under 57 in the semis to grab lane four in the final. Those two were on a collision course due to meet in the final, and seemed to leave the rest of the field fighting for third place.

Vollmer and Worrell bolted to the front of the pack right away, with Stewart and Donahue closely in tow. At the turn, the two favorites were in front, and each used strong turns to extend their lead. Worrell showed her short course prowess with nine kicks off the wall and ran away with the race, touching in 56.48, which was the second fastest time in the world that year. Immediately upon touching the wall, Worrell was on the verge of tears and the emotions she had showed her accomplishment: she was the first American swimmer from the University of Louisville to make the Olympic team.

Vollmer touched second in 57.21 – her mission complete as her one-year-old son watched in the stands. Vollmer was off to her third Olympic team at the age of 28 while Worrell was on her first team at 21.

Results:

Kelsi Worrell, 56.48
Dana Vollmer, 57.21
Kendyl Stewart, 58.22
Cassidy Bayer, 58.35
Sarah Gibson, 58.79
Claire Donahue, 58.81
Hellen Moffitt, 59.23
Hali Flickinger, 59.31

On to Rio

Dana Vollmer went on to win the bronze medal in the 100 butterfly in Rio with a 56.63, as still no woman has gone on to win back to back Olympic golds in the 100 butterfly. Nonetheless, not many have gone on to win medals after having children so her bronze medal served as an inspiration for women and moms all over the world. She swam a 56.63 to win the bronze medal behind world record holder Sarah Sjostrom and rising upstart Penny Oleksiak.

Kelsi Worrell had a long finish in her semifinal swim, and finished ninth with a 57.54, just three hundredths away from the final. China’s Chen Xinyi, who beat Worrell out of the final, tested positive for a banned substance later in the meet and her finals swim was disqualified as a result. Worrell swam on the prelims medley relay and split a 56.47 on the last day of the meet. Vollmer donned the black cap in the finals relay and split a 56.00 for the Americans who won their second straight gold medal in the medley relay.

Vollmer had a second child in the summer of 2017, and eventually retired from the sport of swimming at U.S. Nationals in August 2019, leaving behind a hall of fame legacy as one of the few three-time Olympians in USA Swimming history.

Kelsi Worrell married fellow Louisville swimmer Thomas Dahlia in 2017 and has raced under her married name in the last few years. She has been the number one 100 butterflyer in the United States each of the last three years, and remains a medal threat at next year’s Olympic Games.

Dana Vollmer; Photo Courtesy: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports

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