There are plenty of evens that will be wide open at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials this week in Indianapolis, but one of the more intriguing events of late has been the men’s 400 freestyle.<\/p>\n

Throw in some local teens and the first final of the meet had a lot of excitement.<\/p>\n

And in true storybook fashion, the 19-year-old from Carmel, Indiana, just a few miles away, became the first swimmer to punch their ticket to Paris.<\/p>\n

Aaron Shackell<\/strong> won the race in 3:45.46, holding off a late charge from Kieran Smith<\/strong>, who took second in 3:45.76.<\/p>\n

“It is a moment I always dreamed of, getting a medal in front of a massive crowd. That is the moment every kid dreams about. I was soaking it in,” Shackell said. “We inspire each other (at Carmel) and that carries over from generation to generation. When my sister told me I was going to be an Olympian, it was probably the best moment of my life.”<\/p>\n

Shackell’s sister, Alex, and brother, Andrew, are also competing at the trials. Their father was an Olympian for Great Britain.<\/p>\n

“Looking up to people is what helped me want to be good. It energizes you,” Aaron said.<\/p>\n

The finals saw three Olympians in the top eight, but also saw a couple of teens outdo them in prelims.<\/p>\n

It is also an event that the U.S. has collectively struggled in on an international level.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Jake Mitchell<\/strong> won the event, but did not automatically qualify for the Olympics because his swim did not meet the Olympic “A” standard.<\/p>\n

He went on to swim an extremely memorable time trial later at trials where he, energized by the crowd, surged to the qualifying time and punched his ticket to Tokyo.<\/p>\n

“I was in the zone and I saw I had the lead (the last 50),” Shackell said. “I had the mindset that I was not going to let myself lose.”<\/p>\n