{"id":586699,"date":"2024-06-07T16:31:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T23:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=586699"},"modified":"2024-06-08T05:46:29","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T12:46:29","slug":"u-s-olympic-trials-pre-scratch-psych-sheet-released","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/u-s-olympic-trials-pre-scratch-psych-sheet-released\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Olympic Trials Pre-Scratch Psych Sheet Released; Road to Paris is a Gauntlet"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Olympic Trials Pre-Scratch Psych Sheet Released<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just over one week from the start of the U.S. Olympic Trials, USA Swimming has released the full pre-scratch psych sheet for the nine-day meet, set to be held inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Click here to view the psych sheet<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stars of the U.S. team in previous Olympics and World Championships are all expected to race for spots on the team bound for the Games in Paris, France, with\u00a0Katie Ledecky<\/strong> chasing her fourth Olympic team as the top-seeded swimmer in the 200, 400, 800 and 1500 freestyle. Ledecky has captured seven Olympic gold medals and 10 total medals in her illustrious career.<\/p>\n

Caeleb Dressel<\/strong>, who won five golds at the Tokyo Games, is set to swim the 100 free, 100 butterfly and 50 free, and while he is not seeded close to the top in any of his events, the psych sheet is deceiving as Dressel has quickly worked his way back to top form following an extended hiatus from training.<\/p>\n

On the men’s side, the only swimmers to hold the top qualifying time in multiple events are Olympic champions\u00a0Ryan Murphy<\/strong>, seeded atop the field in the 100 and 200 backstroke, and\u00a0Bobby Finke<\/strong>, ranked first and heavily favored in both the 800 and 1500 free. Murphy is also entered in the 100 fly while Finke is swimming the 400 free, although he has somewhat surprisingly dropped the 400 IM from his slate of races.<\/p>\n

Carson Foster<\/strong> is ranked first in the 400 IM while also entering the 100, 200 and 400 free, 200 back, 200 fly and 400 free, although it is highly unlikely he races all seven events. Other recent World Championship men’s medalists heading the field in their main events are Nic Fink<\/strong> (100 breaststroke), Luke Hobson<\/strong> (200 free),\u00a0Matt Fallon<\/strong> (200 breast),\u00a0Jack Alexy<\/strong> (100 free) and\u00a0Dare Rose<\/strong> (200 breast). As for more versatile swimmers, Michael Andrew<\/strong> is entered in the 100 breast, 200 IM, 100 fly and 50 free while\u00a0Shaine Casas<\/strong> has the 100-meter races of back, free and fly plus the 200 IM.<\/p>\n

For the women,\u00a0Kate Douglass\u00a0<\/strong>is set for a huge Trials as the top seed in the 100 free, 200 breast and 200 IM while also entering the 100 breast and 50 free, dropping the 100 fly from her slate. Douglass will likely have to choose between the 200 IM and 50 free for her final event of the meet, a tough decision considering she is the two-time world champion in the medley and the American-record holder in the splash-and-dash.<\/p>\n

Regan Smith<\/strong> holds the top mark in both backstroke events plus the 200 fly, and she is also entered in the 100 fly, a potentially tremendous race even without Douglass as it features 2022 world champion\u00a0Torri Huske<\/strong> plus sprint standouts\u00a0Gretchen Walsh<\/strong> and\u00a0Claire Curzan<\/strong>. Curzan is skipping the freestyle races to focus on the 100 fly and the backstroke races while Huske is entered in the 50 and 100 free plus the 200 IM in addition to the 100 fly. Walsh, the fastest swimmer ever in the 100-yard back, is skipping the long course version of that race to focus on the 100 fly and sprint freestyle.<\/p>\n

One swimmer has opted out of an event in which she made the World Championship final last year, but the news was expected:\u00a0Alex Walsh<\/strong> will not swim the 400 IM, as she had previously announced, choosing instead to focus on the breaststroke events alongside her signature 200 IM. Meanwhile, breaststroke star\u00a0Lilly King<\/strong> will hope for a huge performance in front of fans in her home state as she leads the way in the 100 breast.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the two-lap breaststroke race, there is a surprise in the psych sheet with\u00a0Kaitlyn Dobler<\/strong> not entered in the meet. Dobler has missed making the U.S. World Championship team in the event by one spot each of the last two years, and she is a past NCAA champion in the 100-yard breast.<\/p>\n

Swimming World<\/em> has already begun an extensive preview series for the meet<\/a>, with the important info for the first three days of the meet linked below:<\/p>\n