Bobby Finke punches his ticket to Paris in the 800m Freestyle.
Bobby Finke Looks to Defend 800m Free Title in Paris
Tuesday, June 18, 2024 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Olympics
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. –Day four of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials saw Gator Bobby Finke punch his ticket to Paris after defending his 800m freestyle title on Tuesday night inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
Additionally, Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel made his long-awaited debut on Tuesday morning in the 100m free. Florida swimmers Adam Chaney, Macguire McDuff, Julian Smith, Kieran Smith and incoming freshman Devin Dilger joined their fellow Gator in the prelim, while 10 more Gators competed on day four: Anna Auld, Peter Bretzmann, Micayla Cronk, Bobby Finke, Mason Laur, Isabele Ivey, Caroline Pennington and incoming freshman Luke Whitlock.
HOW IT HAPPENED - FINALS SESSION
Men's 100m Free Semifinals – Results
Caeleb Dressel was nothing but smiles following his 47.53 Semifinal time. The Olympic gold medalist kicked it in gear on the final 50 meters to inch towards Jack Alexy, who set the U.S. Open record during prelims just hours before. Alexy hung on to claim first (47.33), while Dressel followed in second. The Florida swimmer goes into tomorrow's Final as the third seed and will fight for an Olympic spot in alongside his fellow Gator, Macguire McDuff.
McDuff swam an impressive 48.04 to set a new personal-best and quietly earn the sixth seed in tomorrow's Final.
Kieran Smith, who qualified for the 4x200m relay on Monday night, finished 11th with 48.57 to miss out on a Finals reserve spot by one place.
Men's 200m Fly Semifinals – Results
Coming into the semis as the top seed, Mason Laur just had to finish in the top-eight to secure a spot in tomorrow's Final. He had the second-fastest reaction time off the blocks, but fell to fourth place following the first 100 meters. Similar to his prelim swim, Laur accelerated in the final 50 meters to record a 30.22 split and make a jump from fourth to second. His overall time of 1:55.05 reset his lifetime-best that he logged this morning and will head into Wednesday's Final as the third seed.
Men's 800m Free Final – Results
A former and an incoming Gator highlighted the only men's Final tonight, as Bobby Finke looked to defend his title in the event. The two-time Olympic gold medalist grabbed an early lead in the opening 100 meters and led comfortably until the final leg, when incoming freshman Luke Whitlock added some pressure. Whitlock recorded a 28.50 in the final 50 meters to outpace the American Record holder and come close to taking the No. 1 spot like in prelims. The UF Alum stayed the course and touched the wall in 7:44.22. Whitlock placed second and obliterated his seed time of 7:51.22 by over five seconds with 7:45.19 He will more than likely fill the second 800m Free spot when the full team is named in July.
HOW IT HAPPENED - MORNING SESSION
Men's 200m Fly – Results
Making his Olympic debut, Mason Laur was the lone Gator who competed in the opening event. He was first of the blocks, but kept steady in second until the final stretch of the race. His last turn put him within striking distance of first to give him even more momentum in the last 25 meters. He touched the wall in 1:55.09, marking a new lifetime-best by six-tenths of a second. The two-time All-American is listed as the highest seed heading into the Semifinals.
Men's 100m Free – Results
Caeleb Dressel, Macguire McDuff and Kieran Smith advanced to the Semifinals after headlining the event. Dressel was first off the blocks in his debut swim, where the Gator finished second in the ninth heat following his 47.82. He is seeded third heading into tonight's Finals.
After making the 4x200m free relay Olympic Team Monday night, Smith grabbed the ninth seed after touching the wall in 48.46 to set a new personal-best. The now two-time Olympian broke his previous best of 48.50, which was set in April of 2022.
Current Gator, McDuff came off the blocks in third to keep pace with the pack. His 48.60 solidified him 13th overall for a qualifying spot in his first ever Olympic Trials.
Adam Chaney and Julian Smith swam together in heat six. Smith was third off the blocks, but moved to second heading into the final 50 meters. His 49.05 finish was good for third and sat fifth overall with three heats to go. The senior's personal-best time placed him 22nd overall.
Returning to action after his 100m backstroke final yesterday, Chaney recorded just his second sub-50.00 of the year after going 49.64. He finished 34th overall.
Incoming freshman Devin Dilger raced in heat four. The newest Gator clocked a 49.88 to finish 41st overall in his Indianapolis debut.
Women's 1500m Free – Results
In typical fashion, Katie Ledecky was the dominate winner in the event. Swimming in the same heat as the Medal of Honor recipient was Florida's Caroline Pennington. The junior logged a 16:31.74 to claim 14th overall and drop eight seconds off her Tokyo Olympic Trials time.
Competing in her first 1500m free at the Olympic Trials, Anna Auld went 17:11.53 to place 37th in her debut.
Women's 100m Free – Results
Isabel Ivey and Bella Sims raced together in the second-to-last heat. Ivey paced third in the opening 50 meters, but finished fourth after recording 54.75 to inch within her personal best, 54.60. She secured an alternate position after trying for 17th overall. If a swimmer who qualified in the top-16 were to scratch, a swim-off between Ivey and Maxine Parker is needed to solidify the first alternate position.
Swimming in lane three, Sims' remained in the middle pack following her first leg, but finished seventh in 55.54.
Micayla Cronk took the top spot in the second heat after finishing just short of her personal-best time, 55.48. The SEC Championships 100-yard free runner-up touched the wall 55.75 to earn 38th overall.
Men's 200m Breast – Results
Peter Bretzmann knocked almost a second off his personal-best time after clocking a 2:13.47. He kept within the top-three, where he positioned himself in second heading into the final 100 meters. The North Carolina native held his place to finish in second in heat seven.
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
*Incoming Gators
GATORS ON THE U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM
GATOR OLYMPIC HOPEFULS
UP NEXT
The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials continues on Wednesday, June 19 inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The women take their turn competing in the 200m breast to kick off morning prelims and is followed by the men's 200m back. The women conclude the session with the 200m fly. During the night session, swimmers will have a chance to punch their ticket to Paris in five different events. The men will find out who makes the team in the 200m fly, 100m free and 200m free, while the women start short with the 100m free and finish long in the 1500m free. Additionally, the women's 200m fly, 200m breast and the men's 200m back Semifinals will take place Wednesday night.
SWIMMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Session Start Times (ET): 11 a.m. Prelims / 7:45 p.m. Finals (varying based on broadcast needs). The trials will have 17 sessions distributed over nine days. With eight prelims and nine finals, every individual event contested at the Olympics will have a trial.
SWIM TRIALS FULL TV SCHEDULE:
Live coverage of the Trials will be available every night at 8. pm. ET on NBC, along with daily preliminary heats on Peacock at 11 a.m. USA Network will have same-day delayed coverage of prelims.
*Taped coverage
OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TIMES:
For individual events at the Paris Games, there are two types – Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) and Olympic Consideration TIME (OCT), per World Aquatics. Swimmers who match or better the OQT in one or more individual events, qualify for Olympic competition automatically. Participating countries may enter two (2) athletes in the same event, only if both swimmers' times are equivalent or under the OQT. The OCT threshold works differently. Should the OQT not yield a quota of 852 total swimmers, "World Aquatics will then invite athletes who have equaled or bettered an OCT, until the total quota of 852 athletes is reached."
Swimming at the 2024 Olympic Games will be held at the Paris La Defense Arena, located in the city of Nanterre. Indoor swimming kicks off July 27 and runs through August 4; in total, 35 medal events will be competed. Olympic swimming competition concludes with the men's and women's open water (10km marathon swimming) races taking place August 8-9. The full Team USA roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be confirmed in July.
COMPLETE LIST OF GATORS WHO HAVE PUNCHED THEIR TICKET TO PARIS:
SOCIAL: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
JOIN THE CONVERSATION: #GoGators
Bobby Finke is headed to Paris 🐊🇫🇷 #GoGators x #SwimTrials24 pic.twitter.com/vaS3ZTG39x
— Gators Swimming & Diving (@GatorsSwimDv) June 19, 2024
Additionally, Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel made his long-awaited debut on Tuesday morning in the 100m free. Florida swimmers Adam Chaney, Macguire McDuff, Julian Smith, Kieran Smith and incoming freshman Devin Dilger joined their fellow Gator in the prelim, while 10 more Gators competed on day four: Anna Auld, Peter Bretzmann, Micayla Cronk, Bobby Finke, Mason Laur, Isabele Ivey, Caroline Pennington and incoming freshman Luke Whitlock.
HOW IT HAPPENED - FINALS SESSION
Men's 100m Free Semifinals – Results
Caeleb Dressel was nothing but smiles following his 47.53 Semifinal time. The Olympic gold medalist kicked it in gear on the final 50 meters to inch towards Jack Alexy, who set the U.S. Open record during prelims just hours before. Alexy hung on to claim first (47.33), while Dressel followed in second. The Florida swimmer goes into tomorrow's Final as the third seed and will fight for an Olympic spot in alongside his fellow Gator, Macguire McDuff.
McDuff swam an impressive 48.04 to set a new personal-best and quietly earn the sixth seed in tomorrow's Final.
Kieran Smith, who qualified for the 4x200m relay on Monday night, finished 11th with 48.57 to miss out on a Finals reserve spot by one place.
Bobby Finke is headed to Paris 🐊🇫🇷 #GoGators x #SwimTrials24 pic.twitter.com/vaS3ZTG39x
— Gators Swimming & Diving (@GatorsSwimDv) June 19, 2024
Men's 200m Fly Semifinals – Results
Coming into the semis as the top seed, Mason Laur just had to finish in the top-eight to secure a spot in tomorrow's Final. He had the second-fastest reaction time off the blocks, but fell to fourth place following the first 100 meters. Similar to his prelim swim, Laur accelerated in the final 50 meters to record a 30.22 split and make a jump from fourth to second. His overall time of 1:55.05 reset his lifetime-best that he logged this morning and will head into Wednesday's Final as the third seed.
Men's 800m Free Final – Results
A former and an incoming Gator highlighted the only men's Final tonight, as Bobby Finke looked to defend his title in the event. The two-time Olympic gold medalist grabbed an early lead in the opening 100 meters and led comfortably until the final leg, when incoming freshman Luke Whitlock added some pressure. Whitlock recorded a 28.50 in the final 50 meters to outpace the American Record holder and come close to taking the No. 1 spot like in prelims. The UF Alum stayed the course and touched the wall in 7:44.22. Whitlock placed second and obliterated his seed time of 7:51.22 by over five seconds with 7:45.19 He will more than likely fill the second 800m Free spot when the full team is named in July.
Bobby Finke is headed to Paris 🐊🇫🇷 #GoGators x #SwimTrials24 pic.twitter.com/vaS3ZTG39x
— Gators Swimming & Diving (@GatorsSwimDv) June 19, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED - MORNING SESSION
Men's 200m Fly – Results
Making his Olympic debut, Mason Laur was the lone Gator who competed in the opening event. He was first of the blocks, but kept steady in second until the final stretch of the race. His last turn put him within striking distance of first to give him even more momentum in the last 25 meters. He touched the wall in 1:55.09, marking a new lifetime-best by six-tenths of a second. The two-time All-American is listed as the highest seed heading into the Semifinals.
Men's 100m Free – Results
Caeleb Dressel, Macguire McDuff and Kieran Smith advanced to the Semifinals after headlining the event. Dressel was first off the blocks in his debut swim, where the Gator finished second in the ninth heat following his 47.82. He is seeded third heading into tonight's Finals.
After making the 4x200m free relay Olympic Team Monday night, Smith grabbed the ninth seed after touching the wall in 48.46 to set a new personal-best. The now two-time Olympian broke his previous best of 48.50, which was set in April of 2022.
Current Gator, McDuff came off the blocks in third to keep pace with the pack. His 48.60 solidified him 13th overall for a qualifying spot in his first ever Olympic Trials.
Adam Chaney and Julian Smith swam together in heat six. Smith was third off the blocks, but moved to second heading into the final 50 meters. His 49.05 finish was good for third and sat fifth overall with three heats to go. The senior's personal-best time placed him 22nd overall.
Returning to action after his 100m backstroke final yesterday, Chaney recorded just his second sub-50.00 of the year after going 49.64. He finished 34th overall.
Incoming freshman Devin Dilger raced in heat four. The newest Gator clocked a 49.88 to finish 41st overall in his Indianapolis debut.
Women's 1500m Free – Results
In typical fashion, Katie Ledecky was the dominate winner in the event. Swimming in the same heat as the Medal of Honor recipient was Florida's Caroline Pennington. The junior logged a 16:31.74 to claim 14th overall and drop eight seconds off her Tokyo Olympic Trials time.
Competing in her first 1500m free at the Olympic Trials, Anna Auld went 17:11.53 to place 37th in her debut.
Women's 100m Free – Results
Isabel Ivey and Bella Sims raced together in the second-to-last heat. Ivey paced third in the opening 50 meters, but finished fourth after recording 54.75 to inch within her personal best, 54.60. She secured an alternate position after trying for 17th overall. If a swimmer who qualified in the top-16 were to scratch, a swim-off between Ivey and Maxine Parker is needed to solidify the first alternate position.
Swimming in lane three, Sims' remained in the middle pack following her first leg, but finished seventh in 55.54.
Micayla Cronk took the top spot in the second heat after finishing just short of her personal-best time, 55.48. The SEC Championships 100-yard free runner-up touched the wall 55.75 to earn 38th overall.
Men's 200m Breast – Results
Peter Bretzmann knocked almost a second off his personal-best time after clocking a 2:13.47. He kept within the top-three, where he positioned himself in second heading into the final 100 meters. The North Carolina native held his place to finish in second in heat seven.
TUESDAY'S RESULTS
| Tuesday, June 18 Finals Results |
|
| Men's 100m Freestyle Semifinals *Top eight advance to Finals* |
3rd - Caeleb Dressel – 47.53 |
| 6th - Macguire McDuff – 48.04 | |
| 11th - Kieran Smith – 48.57 | |
| Men's 200m Butterfly Semifinals *Top eight advance to Finals* |
3rd - Mason Laur – 1:50.05 |
| Men's 800m Freestyle Final | 1st - Bobby Finke – 7:44.22 |
| 2nd - Luke Whitlock* - 7:45.19 | |
| Morning Heats Results | |
| Men's 200m Butterfly *Top-16 advance to Finals* |
1st - Mason Laur – 1:55.09 |
| Men's 100m Freestyle *Top-16 advance to Semifinals* |
3rd - Caeleb Dressel – 47.82 |
| 9th – Kieran Smith – 48.46 | |
| 13th - Macguire McDuff – 48.60 | |
| 22nd - Julian Smith – 49.05 | |
| 34th - Adam Chaney – 49.64 | |
| 41st - Devin Dilger* - 49.88 | |
| Women's 1500m Freestyle *Top eight advance to Finals* |
14th - Caroline Pennington – 16:31.74 |
| 37th - Anna Auld – 17:11.53 | |
| Women's 100m Freestyle *Top-16 advance to Semifinals* |
17th - Isabele Ivey – 54.75 |
| 31st - Bella Sims – 55.54 | |
| 38th - Micayla Cronk – 55.75 | |
| Men's 200m Breaststroke *Top-16 advance to Semifinals* |
24th - Peter Bretzmann – 2:13.47 |
GATORS ON THE U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM
| Name | Event |
| Kieran Smith | 4X200m Freestyle Relay |
| Bobby Finke | 800m Freestyle |
| Name | Event | Place | Time |
| Emma Weyant | 400m IM | 2nd Place | 4:35.56 |
| Luke Whitlock | 800m Free | 2nd Place | 7:45.19 |
UP NEXT
The U.S. Olympic Swim Trials continues on Wednesday, June 19 inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The women take their turn competing in the 200m breast to kick off morning prelims and is followed by the men's 200m back. The women conclude the session with the 200m fly. During the night session, swimmers will have a chance to punch their ticket to Paris in five different events. The men will find out who makes the team in the 200m fly, 100m free and 200m free, while the women start short with the 100m free and finish long in the 1500m free. Additionally, the women's 200m fly, 200m breast and the men's 200m back Semifinals will take place Wednesday night.
SWIMMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Session Start Times (ET): 11 a.m. Prelims / 7:45 p.m. Finals (varying based on broadcast needs). The trials will have 17 sessions distributed over nine days. With eight prelims and nine finals, every individual event contested at the Olympics will have a trial.
| June 19 – Wednesday | |
| Prelims | Finals |
| Women's 200M Breaststroke | Women's 100M Freestyle Final |
| Men's 200M Backstroke | Men's 200M Butterfly Final |
| Women's 200M Butterfly | Women's 200M Butterfly Semi |
| Women's 1500M Freestyle Final | |
| Men's 200M Backstroke Semi | |
| Women's 200M Breaststroke Final | |
| Men's 200M Breaststroke Final | |
| Men's 100M Freestyle Final | |
| June 20 – Thursday | |
| Prelims | Finals |
| Women's 200M Backstroke | Women's 200M Butterfly Final |
| Men's 50M Freestyle | Men's 200M Backstroke Final |
| Men's 200M IM | Men's 50M Freestyle Semi |
| Women's 200M Breaststroke Final | |
| Women's 200M Backstroke Semi | |
| Men's 200M IM Semi | |
| June 21 – Friday | |
| Prelims | Finals |
| Men's 100M Butterfly | Men's 50M Freestyle Final |
| Women's 200M IM | Women's 200M Backstroke Final |
| Women's 800M Freestyle | Men's 200M IM Final |
| Men's 100M Butterfly Semi | |
| Women's 200M IM Semi | |
| June 22 – Saturday | |
| Prelims | Finals |
| Women's 50M Freestyle | Men's 100M Butterfly Final |
| Men's 1500M Freestyle | Women's 50M Freestyle Semi |
| Women's 200M IM Final | |
| Women's 800M Freestyle Final | |
| June 23 – Sunday | |
| Prelims | Finals |
| Women's 50M Freestyle Final | |
| Men's 1500M Freestyle Final | |
SWIM TRIALS FULL TV SCHEDULE:
Live coverage of the Trials will be available every night at 8. pm. ET on NBC, along with daily preliminary heats on Peacock at 11 a.m. USA Network will have same-day delayed coverage of prelims.
| DATE | COVERAGE | NETWORK | TIME |
| Sat., June 15 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 6:30 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Sun., June 16 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 5 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Mon., June 17 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 7 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Tues., June 18 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 6 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Wed., June 19 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 7 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Thurs., June 20 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 7 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Fri., June 21 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 5:30 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Sat., June 22 | Qualifying Heats | Peacock | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying Heats | USA Network* | 6:30 p.m. | |
| Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. | |
| Sun., June 23 | Finals | NBC, Peacock | 8 p.m. |
| Sat., June 29 | Paralympic Finals | CNBC, Peacock | 6 p.m. |
| Sun., June 30 | Paralympic Finals | CNBC* | 1 p.m. |
OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TIMES:
For individual events at the Paris Games, there are two types – Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) and Olympic Consideration TIME (OCT), per World Aquatics. Swimmers who match or better the OQT in one or more individual events, qualify for Olympic competition automatically. Participating countries may enter two (2) athletes in the same event, only if both swimmers' times are equivalent or under the OQT. The OCT threshold works differently. Should the OQT not yield a quota of 852 total swimmers, "World Aquatics will then invite athletes who have equaled or bettered an OCT, until the total quota of 852 athletes is reached."
| Men's | Event |
Women's | ||
| Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) -2 Entries |
Olympic Consideration Times (OTC) -1 Entry |
Olympic Qualifying Time (OQT) -2 Entries |
Olympic Consideration Times (OTC) -1 Entry |
|
| 21.96 | 22.07 | 50m Freestyle | 24.70 | 24.82 |
| 48.34 | 48.58 | 100m Freestyle | 53.61 | 53.88 |
| 1:46.26 | 1:46.79 | 200m Freestyle | 1:57.26 | 1:57.85 |
| 3:46.78 | 3:47.91 | 400m Freestyle | 4:07.90 | 4:09.14 |
| 7:51.65 | 7:54.01 | 800m Freestyle | 8:26.71 | 8:29.24 |
| 15:00.99 | 15:05.49 | 1500m Freestyle | 16:09.09 | 16:13.94 |
| 53.74 | 54.01 | 100m Backstroke | 59.99 | 1:00.29 |
| 1:57.50 | 1:58.09 | 200m Backstroke | 2:10.39 | 2:11.04 |
| 59.49 | 59.79 | 100m Butterfly | 1:06.79 | 1:07.12 |
| 2:09.68 | 2:10.33 | 200m Butterfly | 2:23.91 | 2:24.63 |
| 51.67 | 51.93 | 100m Breaststroke | 57.92 | 58.21 |
| 1:55.78 | 1:56.36 | 200m Breaststroke | 2:08.43 | 2:09.07 |
| 1:57.94 | 1:58.53 | 200m Individual Medley | 2:11.47 | 2:12.13 |
| 4:12.50 | 4:13.76 | 400m Individual Medley | 4:38.53 | 4:39.92 |
Swimming at the 2024 Olympic Games will be held at the Paris La Defense Arena, located in the city of Nanterre. Indoor swimming kicks off July 27 and runs through August 4; in total, 35 medal events will be competed. Olympic swimming competition concludes with the men's and women's open water (10km marathon swimming) races taking place August 8-9. The full Team USA roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be confirmed in July.
COMPLETE LIST OF GATORS WHO HAVE PUNCHED THEIR TICKET TO PARIS:
- Maha Amer – Egypt
- Julie Brousseau – Canada
- Josh Liendo – Canada
- Nicole Maier – Germany
- Jonny Marshall – Great Britain
- Alfonso Mestre – Venezuela
- Alberto Mestre – Venezuela
- Aleksas Savickas – Lithuania
- Bobby Finke - USA
- Kieran Smith - USA
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Players Mentioned
/ Olympics
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Olympics
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Olympics
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
/ Olympics
/ Women's Swimming & Diving
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