Cal Bears at U.S. Olympic Swim Trials Update: Busy Wednesday Evening Session
Ryan Murphy is heading to his 3rd Olympic game, what other Cal Bears will join him on Team USA?
We are exactly halfway through the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials: 4.5 days into the 9-day event. Several “Calympians” have already booked their spots in Paris next month. Plenty more spots are up for grabs in Wednesday night’s final at 5 PM PT on NBC/Peacock.
A reminder that one needs to finish in the top two of almost all events and in the top six of 100m and 200m Free to be a U.S. Swim Olympian. Technically, only the top finisher and the top four of those two events are immediately earning the precious Olympic berths, but by the time all of the events are sorted and a few super athletes have earned berths in multiple events, all of the second-place finishers and often the top-six in those two events will make Team USA.
Coming up tonight:
Women’s 100m Freestyle Final: Cal alum Abbey Weitzeil - a top-six finish will likely be enough to go to Paris but Weitzeil has a decent chance to finish in the top two to race in the 100m Free and not just the 4x100m Free relay in Paris.
Men’s 200m Butterfly Final: Three Cal Bears will be in this final: Dare Rose, Colby Mefford, and Trenton Julian. All three are seeking their first Olympics. Colby’s older brother Bryce, who also swam at Cal, was a former “Calympian”.
Women’s 200m Butterfly Semifinal: Cal commit (and future Class of 2029) Alex Shackell got the top time in Wednesday morning’s prelim. Recent Cal graduate Rachel Klinker will also race for a lane in tomorrow’s final.
Women’s 1500m Freestyle Final
Men’s 200m Backstroke Semifinal: Cal legend Ryan Murphy is the familiar name here, but don’t sleep on Cal rising sophomore Keaton Jones. Golden Bears have swept the top two spots of this event a few times in recent history. Of course, both Cal Bears only need top-8 finishes tonight to advance to tomorrow’s final.
By the way, Colby Mefford and Destin Lasco chose to scratch this event to focus on their other finals. Lasco was a good bet to make the final.
Women’s 200m Breaststroke Semifinal
Men’s 200m Breaststroke Final
Men’s 100m Freestyle Final: Cal rising senior Jack Alexy might break the world record here. He is joined by fellow Cal Bear Destin Lasco and Cal Pro Group member Hunter Armstrong (who swam at Ohio State but turned pro and moved to Berkeley to train after one year). With the relay spots, there is enough room for all three.
That is a busy night with plenty of Cal Bears!
As for who has already booked their spots on Team USA:
https://x.com/TeamUSA/status/1802874592937042048
Ryan Murphy will be a “Calympian” for the 3rd time! Still the elite backstroke in the world, Murphy won 100m Back. In addition to the 100m Back, the likely Team USA Captain also likely earned a spot on the Men’s 4x100m Medley relay and possibly the Mixed Sex 4x100m Medley relay.
Finishing just behind Murphy is Hunter Armstrong. Armstrong is sporting a Cal cap for training with the Cal Pro Group. Armstrong had an eventful semifinal swim where he slipped off the starting block but still made the 100m Back Final due to his incredible speed. Armstrong was also an Olympian for the delayed 2021 Tokyo Games where he got a Gold in the Men’s 4x100m Medley Relay.
While Hunter Armstrong does not get the “Calympian” moniker, someone who does is Aaron Shackell. Shackell, whose younger sister Alex will be mentioned later, came to Berkeley as a freshman last fall. He raced in some fall events as a Cal Bear before deciding to return home to Indiana to train. The local favorite for this Swim Trials in Indianapolis was the first person to earn an Olympic spot when he won the men’s 400m Freestyle.
After entering the transfer portal, Aaron Shackell has already committed to Texas.
Aaron’s younger sister Alex Shackell is still on her way to Berkeley in 2025. The top-ranked recruit of that class, Alex Shackell is a part of an incredible recruiting class that includes Claire Weinstein.
In Monday night’s Women’s 200m Free Final, Claire Weinstein became a Paris Olympian by finishing 2nd. Alex Shackell’s Paris berth will likely be confirmed later this week for her 6th-place finish.
In a similar vein of not-yet officially an Olympian but will likely be one, Brooks Curry finished 5th in the Men’s 200m Free Final. Like Hunter Armstrong, Brooks Curry is only a member of the Cal Pro Group. They have been racing this week in Indianapolis sporting a Cal cap but have never competed for Cal collegiately. Technically, Brooks Curry still has a year of eligibility and is currently in the transfer portal after four years of collegiate swimming at LSU. An Olympian in 2021, Curry got a Gold for Team USA in the 4 x 100m Free relay.
The closest near misses for Cal Bears came from the Men’s 100m Breaststroke final. Cal graduate and reigning NCAA champion in 100y Breaststroke Liam Bell finished 4th. Fellow Cal Bear Luke Rodarte finished 7th.
In case you missed it, a full list of Cal-affiliated swimmers can be found in Christopher Zheng’s preview.
Our 2024 Paris “Calympian” list is already at 40 with at least a few more to be added soon either from this Olympic trials or when the official national team rosters are named. It will be another busy Summer full of Cal Bears vying for Olympic glory in Paris, France!