Athletes fought for berths in the finals of three events on Day 3 of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials: the women’s 400 Individual Medley (IM), the women’s 100 Backstroke, and the men’s 800 Freestyle. Swimmers showed incredible performances, creating the tone for an exciting continuation of the Trials.

Athletes’ Olympic aspirations and record-breaking potential were on the line. Promising rookies and seasoned veterans pushed themselves to the utmost in the preliminary round to guarantee their spots in the evening’s finals.

WOMEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – PRELIMS

World Record: 4:24.38, Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2024 Canadian Trials
American Record: 4:31.12, Katie Hoff – 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials
U.S. Open Record: 4:28.61, Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2022 U.S. Open
World Junior Record: 4:24.38, Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2024 Canadian Trials
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Emma Weyant, 4:33.81
2024 Olympic Qualifying Time: 4:38.53

Final Qualifiers:

Emma Weyant (FLOR), 4:38.96
Katie Grimes (SAND), 4:39.63
Lucy Bell (ALTO), 4:40.79
Lilla Bognar (TG), 4:41.14
Leah Hayes (TIDEIL), 4:42.97
Zoe Dixon (FLOR), 4:43.30
Leah Smith (TXLA), 4:43.45
Audrey Derivaux (JW), 4:45.23

Highlights:

Emma Weyant made her motion during the breaststroke leg in an outstanding performance in the women’s 400 IM final heat. With an average time of 4:38.96, she finished ahead of Katie Grimes and maintained her lead, securing the first spot for tonight’s final. Her season-best time of 4:39.00, which she posted at the Atlanta Classic last month, was only four-hundredths of a second faster than this time.

Katie Grimes, a 2x silver medallist at the World Championship, looked strong and at ease as she finished in 4:39.63 to take the second slot. With a season-best time of 4:32.76, Grimes appears to have more left in her for the race tonight. Lucy Bell from the Alto Swim Club also had an incredible effort, finishing in 4:40.79, almost a whole second faster than her personal best. This earned her a third-place finish in the final. That final heat produced the top three slots going into tonight, setting up a thrilling matchup.

Insights:

In Heat 3, Audrey Derivaux, a remarkable teenage swimmer, made waves. Derivaux swam from an outside lane and finished in 4:45.23, smashing personal record by more than four seconds. Audrey Derivaux shot up to #7 all-time in the girls’ 13–14 age division owing to this amazing achievement.

All-Time Rankings, U.S. Girls’ 13-14 400 IM (LCM)

Becca Mann, 4:39.76 — 2012
Katie Anderson, 4:39.82 — 2004
Kayla Han, 4:42.96 — 2023
Erika Hansen, 4:44.45 — 1985
Claire Tuggle, 4:44.81 — 2018
Elizabeth Beisel, 4:44.87 — 2007
Audrey Derivaux, 4:45.23 — 2024
Mariah Denigan, 4:45.41 — 2018

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

World Record: 57.33, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2023 World Cup – Budapest
American Record: 57.51, Regan Smith – 2024 NOVA Speedo Grand Challenge
U.S. Open Record: 57.51, Regan Smith (USA) – 2024 NOVA Speedo Grand Challenge
World Junior Record: 57.57, Regan Smith (USA) – 2019 World Championships
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: 58.35, Regan Smith
2024 Olympic Qualifying Time: 59.99
Semi-Final Qualifiers:

MEN’S 800 FREE — PRELIMS

World Record: 7:32.11 — Zhang Lin (CHN) — 2009 World Championships
American Record: 7:38.67 — Bobby Finke – 2023 World Championships
U.S. Open Record: 7:40.34 — Bobby Finke (USA) – 2023 U.S. National Championships
World Junior Record: 7:43.37 — Lorenzo Galossi (ITA) – 2022 European Championships
2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion: Bobby Finke, 7:48.22
2024 Olympic Qualifying Time — 7:51.65

Highlights:

In the last heat of the women’s 100 back, Regan Smith stamped her mark. Following Katharine Berkoff’s outstanding swim in the previous heat, Smith produced a sub-58 second swim, finishing with a time of 57.93. She has now finished this event in under 58 seconds for the eighteenth time in her career. Continuing to improve in one of her strongest events, the 22-year-old builds on her success from the 100 fly. Less than two-tenths of a second short of the world record, the 22-year-old shattered her five-year-old American record in the 100 back last month with a time of 57.51.

Insights:

With a notable effort, 16-year-old Charlotte Crush finished in 1:00.02, five-hundredths of a second faster than her personal best. In the 15–16 age category, this placing keeps her in 11th position overall.

Bella Sims of Florida made a comeback in the 100 back this morning, following her loss from the 400 free final and semifinals in the 200 free. She finished in 1:00.88, placing her 18th overall, breaking the 1:01 mark for the first time.

And with that, the 2024 US Olympic Swim Trials’ third day of competition is finished! What are your opinions of the night? Put them in the comments section below!