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{"id":585821,"date":"2024-05-22T10:07:45","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=585821"},"modified":"2024-05-22T10:07:45","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:07:45","slug":"alex-walsh-passing-on-400-im-at-trials-to-focus-on-200-im-breaststroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/alex-walsh-passing-on-400-im-at-trials-to-focus-on-200-im-breaststroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Walsh Passing on 400 IM at Trials to Focus on 200 IM, Breaststroke"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alex Walsh Passing on 400 IM at Trials to Focus on 200 IM, Breaststroke<\/strong><\/p>\n

Virginia star Alex Walsh<\/strong> won’t swim the 400 individual medley at Olympic Trials to focus on breaststroke and the shorter IM.<\/p>\n

Walsh will swim the 100 breast and 200 breast. The 400 IM is an event she has had success in, including finishing fourth at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka. But shortly after that swim, she and coach Todd DeSorbo<\/strong> charted a course that would move her away from the longer IM.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though I was really proud of myself for trying a new event and dropping a lot of time, it\u2019s really not my favorite event to swim,\u201d Walsh said Wednesday on a conference call with media from Charlottesville. \u201cIt\u2019s quite painful, and I just think I have a pretty good shot in the 200 breast. I\u2019ve been improving a lot recently and want to go for it. Todd was saying the 400 IM it was kind of dulling the knife for my 200 IM, so I wanted to stay really speedy and sharp, still working on my endurance so that I can finish the race but prioritizing more of a speedier race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walsh\u2019s time in Fukuoka in 2023 (4:34.46) ranks 11th in the world since the beginning of 2023. She didn\u2019t swim it at Olympic Trials in 2021, where she made the team in the 200 IM and ultimately took home a silver medal from Tokyo. Walsh won the 400 IM at NCAAs in the spring<\/a>. The 400 IM final and 100 breast semifinals are on the same night in Indianapolis<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Emma Weyant<\/strong> and Hali Flickinger<\/strong> represented the U.S. in the 400 IM at the last Olympics, with Weyant getting bronze at Worlds in 2022. Katie Grimes<\/strong> won silver at Worlds in 2023.<\/p>\n

Medal prospects are part of the collaborative process of narrowing down events that DeSorbo undertakes with swimmers like Walsh.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be one of the best two in the U.S., you\u2019re probably one of the best two in the world, and that\u2019s a whole different level than NCAAs,\u201d he said. \u201cI try to tell them to narrow things down a little more than they might usually and focus on events that not only can they maybe make the U.S. Olympic team but what\u2019s their best potential to medal at the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 400 IM field in Paris will be chasing Summer McIntosh,<\/strong> who lowered her world record<\/a> to 4:24.38 last week. \u00a0The next fastest performer since the beginning of 2023 is Kaylee McKeown<\/strong> of Australia at 4:28.22. Grimes is third at 4:31.41. Besides a pair of 4:36s from Katie Ledecky,<\/strong> who is extremely unlikely to swim the event at Trials, the next fastest American since the start of 2023 is Leah Hayes<\/strong> at 4:36.84.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"