Two-time Olympian and suburban phenom Ryan Murphy has officially secured his spot on Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Murphy, originally from Palos Heights, made a splash competing at the Olympic Trials at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday.
The suburban swimmer touched the wall first in the men’s 100-meter backstroke final with a time of 52.22 seconds.
Murphy, a University of California at Berkley alumnus, is no stranger to the competition, swimming in every Olympic Trials since 2012.
Hunter Armstrong finished behind Murphy, earning what will likely be the second Olympic spot in the event. Armstrong finished in 52.72 seconds.
In addition to being the fastest swimmer in the heat, Murphy shaved four tenths of a second off his semifinal time.
The Olympic veteran previously competed in both the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games.
Sports
He returned from Rio with three gold medals in the 100-meter backstroke, the 200-meter backstroke, and the 4x100-meter medley.
In addition, he set the world record for the 100-meter backstroke, with a time of 51.85 seconds. The record was later broken in 2022 by Italy's Thomas Ceccon, who finished in 51.60 seconds at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
In Tokyo, Murphy took home gold in the 4x100-meter relay again, but ended up with the silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke and the bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke.
While Murphy has already secured his ticket to Paris, he's not done competing in Indiana just yet.
Viewers can see more of Murphy in the 200-meter backstroke and potentially the 100-meter butterfly, which he said would be a game-time call.
The men’s 200-meter backstroke semifinals will take place on Wednesday night, and the determining final heat will be on Thursday night.
The men’s 100-meter butterfly prelims and semifinals will be on Friday, and the finals on Saturday will determine who qualifies.
Watch Murphy in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where the men's 100-meter backstroke is scheduled for July 28.
Check out the full list of other midwestern swimmers to keep an eye on throughout the remaining six days of trials, here.
