After nine days of intense competition, the U.S. Olympic swim trials have come to a close. The event began with over 800 swimmers competing to punch their ticket to Paris- with only 52 spots available.
The trials were jam packed with athletes representing the Midwest, many of whom qualified for the Games.
Among the first to qualify were Indiana athletes Chris Giuliano and Aaron Shackell.
Giuliano, rising senior at University of Notre Dame, will compete in the men’s 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, and 200-meter freestyle.
Shackell is currently a swimmer with Carmel Swim Club in Indiana. The 19-year-old will compete in the men’s 400-meter freestyle in Paris. His 17-year-old sister Alex Shackell also qualified in the women’s 200-meter butterfly, as well as the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
Illinois athletes Ryan Held and Anna Peplowski are officially on their way to Paris as well.
Twenty-eight-year-old Held missed the last Olympic Games on a technicality. Now, the Springfield-native has earned his spot in the men’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay, the same event he barely missed out on in 2021.
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Peplowski, originally from Germantown Hills and now an athlete at Indiana University, qualified to compete in the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
Former Olympians Blake Pieroni out of Crown Point, Indiana, and Lilly King out of Evansville, Indiana, will be returning for another Games. Pieroni qualified for the men’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay and King qualified for the women’s 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.
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Ryan Murphy, another returning Olympian from Palos Heights, Illinois, qualified in the men’s 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke.
Minnesota native Regan Smith, slated to compete in the women’s 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter butterfly, set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke finishing in 57.13 seconds.
Other Midwestern athletes headed to Paris include:
- Hunter Armstrong: Dover, Ohio, 4x100-meter freestyle relay and 100-meter backstroke
- Drew Kibler: Carmel, Indiana, 4x200-meter freestyle relay
- Luke Whitlock: Noblesville, Indiana, 800-meter freestyle
- Josh Matheny: Indiana University, 200-meter breaststroke
- Carson Foster: Cincinnati, Ohio, 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley
- Phoebe Bacon: University of Wisconsin, 200-meter backstroke
- Mariah Denigan: Fairfield, Ohio, 10-kilometre
