How Athletes Can Qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming presented by Lilly is right around the corner. The meet takes place June 15-23 in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, marking the first time a swim meet will be held in an NFL Stadium.
The grand spectacle of the venue is fitting for a meet that is often called the most difficult competition the sport has to offer. This is the meet where even the biggest stars in swimming get nervous for. This is the meet where elite talents from around the world are plugged into because they want to see what the Americans are doing. This is THE marquee swim meet in the United States of America, and undeniably one of the most pressure-packed swimming competitions in the world.
Many athletes will tell you that the U.S. Trials is a harder meet than the Olympics. Think about it: if someone makes an Olympic roster, they become an Olympian for life, regardless of where they finish on the world stage. The only way to get that Olympic title is by having a successful Trials. If they don’t check that box, then their dreams of being an Olympian are either crushed or, at minimum, postponed for another four long years.
For fans who have not watched an Olympic Trials meet before, here is how the meet works:
Meet Details
- June 15-23
- Long-course meter competition, meaning the pool is an Olympic-size, 50-meter pool, versus many of the grassroots-level competitions that take place in 25-yard pools around the nation
- Competition is taking place in Lucas Oil Stadium, making this the first time a swim meet has been held in an NFL Stadium
Prelims will take place in the morning. The top-16 will advance to semifinals that night. From semifinals, the top-8 will advance to finals the following night
- Athletes have been qualifying for Trials since November 2022
- More than 900 swimmers will compete in Indianapolis, meaning the swimmers at this meet represent the top 0.2% of the more than 325,000 swimmers in the U.S.
Athletes range in age from 14-46, meaning a high school freshman could be competing against a multi-time Olympic legend
- This meet is the ONLY way for an American pool swimmer to make a U.S. Olympic Team
- Note: Three swimmers (Katie Grimes, Mariah Denigan, and Ivan Puskovitch) have already qualified for Paris in the Open Water 10K, a swimming event that is different from the pool qualification outlined below. These three will also swim at Trials in hopes of qualifying in a pool event)
- A maximum of 26 men and 26 women will make the pool team
- The first-place finisher in each event, as well as the top-4 finishers in the 100m and 200m freestyle events (due to relays), are the first priority to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team
- If spots remain, second-place finishers in each event are given second priority to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team
- If spots remain, the fifth-place finishers in the 100m and 200m freestyle events qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team as relay-only swimmers
If spots remain, the sixth-place finishers in the 100m and 200m freestyle events qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team as relay-only swimmers
*This breakdown is a summary of the official selection criteria. To see the full, official selection procedures, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/meet-the-team/national-team. Fans can also keep track of who has been confirmed to the U.S. Olympic Team each night by following @USASwimming on Instagram.
For more on the competition, visit www.usaswimming.org/Trials.