Among Slew of First-Time Olympians, Six Familiar Faces Still Here

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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By David Rieder

Twenty-five. There have been 25 first-time Olympians who have made the U.S. Olympic team so far by finishing first or second—or top-six in either the 100 or 200 free. It’s been those first-time Olympians who have provided many of the biggest moments of the Olympic Trials.

Kevin Cordes set an American record in the men’s 100 breast, and then Josh Prenot did the same with a perfectly-paced swim in the 200 breast Thursday night. 20-year-old Ryan Murphy and 30-year-old David Plummer will both be attending their first Olympics after finishing one-two in the men’s 100 back.

On the women’s side, Lilly King continued her breakthrough with a win in the 100 breast, Kelsi Worrell provided for one of the most emotional moments of the meet with her 100 fly victory, and Maya DiRado appears on her way to becoming a household name after sweeping the IMs (and the 200 back still to come). And there are others. Many, many others.

But as much as these Trials seem like a changing of the guard, many of the old faces expected to return to the Olympics this time around will in fact be doing so. It took a little longer than expected, but Missy Franklin will swim in Rio. So, too, will Ryan Lochte, even if as of this afternoon he has yet to qualify for an individual event.

Thursday night, Cammile Adams came through with a win in the 200 fly, which was exactly what pundits—myself included—predicted pre-meet. But Adams’ road to Rio was bumpier than expected after an eventually-overturned DQ in the prelims. But Adams, a veteran of the London Games and a silver medalist in the event at the 2015 World Championships, kept her composure and did what she needed to do. That’s experience showing through.

It’s tough to make an Olympic team and tougher to make two. Three? Slightly less than routine, to say the least. Being the best year-in and year-out for almost a decade—or more—catches up to the athletes eventually. Stalwarts like Matt Grevers and Natalie Coughlin will not be going to Rio

Six swimmers have qualified for at least their third Olympic team this week, and each of them have overcome their own adversity. How about Elizabeth Beisel, who had her 2015 derailed after she suffered a leg injury? She failed to make a single final at the World Championships, and then, after spending three days in the hospital a week before Trials, she had to gut her way to a second-place finish in the 400 IM. But once again, that was enough for Beisel.

Of course, this was all before Beisel fractured her finger in the warmup pool Tuesday morning. But she is pressing onward, hoping to qualify to swim the 200 back at the Olympics, just like she did in both Beijing and London.

Anthony Ervin made the team Thursday night with a fourth-place finish in the 100 free. Most know his story: he tied for gold in the 50 free at the 2000 Olympics and then won a pair of World titles a year later, and then he took a hiatus from the sport for almost a decade. He returned in 2011, and then shortly thereafter he ended up making the Olympic team in the 50 free.

But even in the four years since, his ride has not exactly been a smooth one. Last summer at the World Championships, Ervin split a 49.69 on the American 400 free relay in prelims, and the squad ended up tying for 11th. While none of the splits were stellar, it was Ervin who became the public goat, and he backed that up by missing the final of the 50 free.

Ervin knew that swim was not indicative of his ability, and he had a year to prove himself correctly. 48.54 seconds later, he has done so, and he has another chance at the Olympic level.

Then there’s Lochte, one of the most versatile swimmers ever who has taken on heavy loads of events at every major international meet since 2005. So far, he is qualified to swim in Rio on the 800 free relay, and his only remaining chance to earn an individual bid will come in tonight’s 200 IM final—in which he is heavily favored to earn a top-two finish.

Lochte’s Olympic Trials began with a pulled groin, and he followed that up with a third-place finish in the 400 IM and a fourth in the 200 free. He scratched the 100 fly after this morning’s prelims, so Lochte’s Rio schedule will likely include the 800 free relay and 200 IM—fittingly enough, the exact same schedule as his first Olympics back in 2004.

Michael Phelps will be the lone five-time Olympian on the squad, and he took a moment to take his accomplishment in following his win in the 200 fly Wednesday night. The time (1:54.84) was nothing special and two seconds away from the top time in the world this year, but it did not matter.

Phelps has been known to be hard on himself after wins when he was not pleased with his time—it’s hard to forget the image of Phelps sticking out his tongue and shaking his head following his 200 fly win at the 2008 Trials—but this time, he appreciated the moment. The man who owns so much swimming history knew that in making his fifth Olympic team, he had taken possession of a little bit more.

But if you want a story of perseverance, look no further than Allison Schmitt. Schmitt won gold in the 200 free in London and anchored all three U.S. relays at that meet, but she had not qualified for World Championship team in the years since, dealing with mental health issues along the way.

A revitalized Schmitt qualified for her third Olympic team with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free Wednesday night, and after that race, Schmitt felt a flurry of emotions.

“I looked in the mirror yesterday, and I could tell myself that I’m a three-time Olympian. And that’s a great feeling,” Schmitt said Thursday after her 100 free semifinal. “I know that I would have loved a better finals swim, but I made the Olympic team, and I’m ecstatic to be on a relay and represent the U.S. one more time.

And then there’s Nathan Adrian, who qualified for the Olympic team with a win in his signature 100 free. Adrian, who swam a 47.72 for the second-fastest time in the world, will have a chance to defend his own gold medal.

Adrian has been incredibly consistent over the eight years with no major down years. In 2008, as a 19-year-old, Adrian tied for ninth in the 100 free at Trials and then won a swim-off to get into the final after Lochte scratched. He finished fourth in the final the next night, made the Olympic team and has been the top sprinter in the country every year since.

Finishing second in that 100 free final was Caeleb Dressel, the first male teenager to make the U.S. Olympic team since Adrian did so eight years ago. Dressel is a hot name now, and all the young talent flooding onto Team USA should certainly be celebrated. But so many young athletes knocking off the old guard underscores just how impressive is the feat of qualifying for a third Olympic Games.

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Davidson

7 years ago

I have no idea why I’ve been reading swim swam, now I’ve read this and the article about Greavers (sp?). Just great, insightful posts.