It was a night for familiar names at the US Olympic swimming trials. Backstroke star Ryan Murphy is headed to his third Olympics. So is breaststroke queen Lilly King. And the most prominent name of all, Katie Ledecky, locked up a second individual race in Paris. Then there is Katie Grimes, who will swim indoors and outdoors at this year’s Summer Games.
In a hectic session featuring five finals, Ledecky made it two-for-two in Indy by touching first in the 200m freestyle on Monday. Having already won the 400m freestyle on the opening night of the trials, Ledecky showed her speed on the final lap to take the victory in 1min 55.22sec.
Still to come for Ledecky, her two best events: the 800m and 1500m freestyle.
She’ll be joined in Paris by Claire Weinstein, runner-up in the 200m free at 1:56.18. Paige Madden and Erin Gemmell are also assured of relay spots in the 4x200m free relay after finishing third and fourth, respectively, with the next two – Anna Peplowski and Alex Shackell – also in the mix for relay spots.
Murphy won the men’s 100m backstroke to continue a run of excellence that dates to his breakout at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. The 28-year-old Floridian touched in 52.22sec and has a chance to add to his already impressive resume, which includes four golds, one silver and one bronze.
“I’ll appreciate my career a little bit more when I’m done swimming,” Murphy said. “Then I can zoom out. Now I’m really zoomed in on everything I’m doing on an every day basis.”
Murphy is fired up for these Olympics after settling for a silver and a bronze in his individual races at Tokyo. “There’s definitely no shortage of motivation on my end,” he said. “I want to win every time I touch the water.”
The 27-year-old King thrilled her home-state fans at Lucas Oil Stadium by taking the 100m breaststroke in 1:05.43. She ran around the deck afterward, hugging family members and soaking up the cheers in the cavernous home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
“I had a really special moment tonight,” she said. “I basked in it a little bit more than I have in the past.”
King has said her third Olympics will be her last. She already has two gold, two silvers and one bronze in her stellar Olympic career.
“I’ve done everything I ever wanted to do,” King said.
Emma Weber was the runner-up in 1:06.10 – edging Tokyo gold medalist Lydia Jacoby by 0.27, which means the Alaska native won’t get a chance to defend her title in Paris.
“My heart absolutely breaks for her,” King said. “That’s how this meet rolls. It can make or break a career in a minute.”
Grimes has already clinched a spot in open water, which will be held in the Seine. She added a pool spot with a victory in the women’s 400m individual medley. Grimes built a big lead through the butterfly and backstroke legs, surrendered the top spot to Emma Weyant on the breaststroke, but rallied in the freestyle to take the guaranteed spot for Paris in 4:35.00.
At Tokyo, Grimes was the youngest member of the entire US Olympic team at 15. She’s a veteran now.
