U.S. International Team Trials: Torri Huske Takes Star-Studded 50 Final (VIDEO)

Torri Huske; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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U.S. International Team Trials: Torri Huske Takes Star-Studded 50 Final

If you’re going to jam six Olympians into an A final at a meet like the U.S. International Team Trials, it comes with a certain expectation of how good the race will be.

Saturday night’s women’s 50 freestyle in Greensboro … yeah, it lived up to the expectations.

Five-hundredths of a second separated four swimmers in the top four spots. And when the dust settled, Torri Huske was on top again.

Huske won in 24.50 seconds, setting up a fourth individual swim at Worlds for the teenager. She was followed by .02 by Erika Brown to add a Budapest berth. Brown had set the pace in the morning with the fastest time of the day in 24.48 seconds.

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Brown’s morning swim is the fourth-fastest swim in the world this year. Huske slots into fourth.

Despite the impressive field, Huske wasn’t too nervous going into the final.

“I didn’t really have any expectations going into it, which is really weird for me because I normally do put pretty high expectations on myself,” she said. “Normally I get super nervous, but going into it, I was surprisingly care-free. I don’t really ever have that, and I was excited to race the people next to me and be there. I guess because I was not worried about it, it took care of itself.”

Third was Gretchen Walsh, agonizingly close to the spot, in 24.53. Claire Curzan finished fourth in 24.55. Curzan holds the fastest time for an American in 2022, having gone 24.43 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio. She was denied a fifth individual swim at Worlds.

There was so little separating the group. Kate Douglass landed fifth in 24.67. Abbey Weitzeil, the two-time Olympian, was sixth in 24.75. She had been 24.73 at TYR Pro Swim series and 24.74 in the morning.

Natalie Hinds was seventh in 24.97. Gabi Albiero rounded out the top eight.

The B final had plenty of big names, with Olivia Smoliga winning it in 25.20, a consolation prize for not making a Worlds team. Mallory Comerford was second in that consolation final.

The win by Huske sets up what could be as many as 16 swims at Worlds, including relays. That’s a daunting task, but one she’s not all that worried about yet.

“I think just trusting my coaches, my training and the people I train with to push me every single day like Regan (Smith) – we’ve been training a lot together – I think it’ll just take care of itself,” she said.

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