U.S. Nationals: Justin Ress Clips Hunter Armstrong for 50 Backstroke Title

Justin Ress -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Nationals: Justin Ress Clips Hunter Armstrong for 50 Backstroke Title

Over the past 14 months, Hunter Armstrong and Justin Ress have developed a domestic rivalry in the 50 backstroke — a friendly rivalry defined by mutual respect but a rivalry nonetheless. At last year’s International Team Trials, Armstrong set an American record in prelims and then broke the world record at night, but just behind was Ress, who became the third man ever to break 24. Only one swimmer qualifies for the U.S. team in 50-meter races, but Ress got on the team by virtue of his sixth-place finish in the 100 freestyle, and he was able to add the backstroke sprint to his lineup.

In Budapest, the tables were flipped as Ress touched out Armstrong for the title. However, Ress was disqualified for illegally submerging at the finish, meaning Armstrong got gold, but the call was overturned shortly thereafter, and Armstrong graciously surrendered the gold medal to his American teammate.

The battles between the two continued in various stops along the Pro Swim Series in 2023, with Armstrong and Ress flipping back and forth as winner and runnerup. Both men are sprinters through and through, having earned success in freestyle in as well as backstroke, with speed and power hard to match globally.

This showdown in Indianapolis had extra weight, with only one spot at World Championships available in the 50-meter sprints. Prior to the race, Ress had already finished sixth in the 100 free, giving himself a chance to qualify for Fukuoka as a relay alternate, but that is dependent on enough swimmers qualifying for multiple events with only 26 spots available for men’s swimmers. Armstrong, on the other hand, missed the 100 free final entirely, so his chances at Worlds would come down to the 50 and 100 backstroke.

It looks like Armstrong will have to wait another day to try to earn a spot in Budapest after Ress touched him out for the national title. Armstrong got the better start and breakout, but Ress blasted the tempo to pull ahead as the two men closed in on the wall. No one else was close to the top two, but Ress still had to be careful with the 6-foot-8-inch Armstrong reaching for the wall. But Ress got there first in 24.10, with Armstrong six hundredths behind at 24.16.

“Once you’re behind the blocks, there’s nothing more you can do to improve it. Might as well just go have fun, say ‘what’s up?’ to the crowd, let them know what’s good and just have fun. That’s what I did, and it worked out,” Ress said.

“It doesn’t matter who’s in the water next to me. It could be the Kool-Aid Man. It doesn’t really matter. Whoever is in the water next to me, it doesn’t really matter. I’m going to race the same way and have the same mindset beforehand. As to specific keys, I really take advantage of my long finish. Now that they changed the rules, I don’t have to worry about the DQ on it, so I’m going to keep taking advantage of it.”

Ress, now 25 and heading to his first World Championships, has mastered the art of racing during his seasons as a professional. He has learned to ignore how he feels prior to a race, knowing that can only psych himself out and hurt his performance, and he has learned how to separate his self-worth from his swimming success.

“Just remind myself that I’ve got more things going on than swimming in my life,” Ress said. “I could come here and eat (crap) in all my races, and I’ll go home and hold myself high because I knew I did all the work I could at home. I did all the work I could preparing for the meet. Once you’re behind the blocks, there’s no telling what will happen. Every single race is different. You can’t go into it with too much expectation. High hopes, low expectations is a pretty good way to approach it.”

While both top finishers were well off their personal-best times, the world record of 23.71 for Armstrong and 23.92 for Ress, but the performance by Ress ranks first in the world, two hundredths ahead of Russia’s Kliment Kolesnikov. Armstrong is third globally ahead of Poland’s Marcin Goraj.

There is still a chance that Armstrong is able to swim the 50 back at Worlds. If he makes the team as the first or second-place finisher in the 100 back, he will add the one-lap race to his schedule. But the 100 back will be his last chance to get onto the team.

It was a big gap from Ress and Armstrong back to the rest of the field. Michigan’s Wyatt Davis took third in 24.62, just ahead of Ryan Held (24.66) and Shaine Casas (24.70).

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