The first few days of the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials are complete, and with less than a week left in the event, several Midwest athletes have already made waves.
The event started with over 1,000 qualified athletes.
Only 26 men and 26 women will leave Indianapolis as members of the 2024 Paris team.
The trials are already making history by taking place inside of Lucas Oil Stadium, marking the first time swimming trials will take place in a football stadium. The stadium has been equipped with an Olympic size swimming pool in preparation for nine days of fierce competition.
Two-time Olympian and Palos Heights-native Ryan Murphy clinched his spot for Paris in the men's 100-meter backstroke competition with a time of 52.22 seconds.
The suburban Chicago swimmer, who currently holds six Olympic medals already, is now officially on his way to his third Olympic Games.
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Meanwhile, Aaron Shackell, a 19-year-old out of Carmel, Indiana, punched his ticket to Paris by winning the men’s 400-meter freestyle competition.
But his night was not even close to over.
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In the 200-meter freestyle semifinals on Sunday night, Shackell tied Daniel Diehl, leading to the first swim-off for a spot in the finals since the trials in 2008.
Shackell beat out Diehl, finishing in 26.91 seconds to Diehl’s 28 seconds.
Twenty-seven-year-old Lilly King out of Evansville, Indiana, won the women’s 100-meter breaststroke semifinal and final, securing her spot on Team USA.
King, also a graduate of Indiana University Bloomington, already has a total of five Olympic medals- and is going for more.
In 2016, she won gold in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 4x100-meter medley relay. In 2021, she came home with silver medals in the 200-meter breaststroke and the 4x100-meter medley relay, as well as a bronze medal in the 100-meter breaststroke.
Cincinnati-native Carson Foster also officially qualified for Paris, finishing first in the men’s 400-meter individual medley.
Foster previously competed in both the 2016 and 2021 trials. In 2021, he finished third, narrowly missing a spot on the Tokyo Olympic team.
This time around, Foster beat out gold and silver medalists from the Tokyo Olympics, Chase Kalisz and Jay Litherland.
On Monday, Notre Dame University swimmer Chris Guiliano finished second in the men's 200-meter freestyle, which solidified his nomination to swim the men's 4x200-meter relay.
As the trials continue on, don’t forget to keep an eye on the other midwestern athletes swimming for a shot on the Paris Olympic team. A list of those athletes can be found here.
