Courtesy of NY Sports Journalism
The United States Olympic Trials are underway! And I will break them down so you know when and where to watch them and what to look for.
The Olympic Trials for swimming and diving, track and field, and artistic gymnastics are the biggest qualifying events.
When:
Swimming and diving began June 15, at the Indiana Colts stadium and in Knoxville, Tenn. respectively, and will last through June 23. Track and field Trials will begin June 21 and run (or jump or throw) through June 30 in Eugene, Ore. The Olympic Trials for gymnastics will take place June 27 to June 30 in Minneapolis.
Where:
NBC has the American broadcasting rights to the Olympics, so most of the events for the Olympic Trials, as well as the Opening Ceremony and Olympic Games, will be on NBC. When it comes to watching everything live, and not missing a single event, Peacock will be your best friend. Per Peacock’s website, “Every moment and every medal will be available LIVE and on-demand on Peacock’s extensive Olympics hub […] During primetime hours, NBC will air a special Olympics showcase of the greatest moments, stories, and events from each day. Peacock will also stream all of NBC’s Olympics coverage as it airs, and so much more. Every event, every medal, and every moment will be streaming on Peacock.”
What to know:
Swimming and Diving:
The swimming and diving trials are in action. On the first day of the competition, Katie Ledecky, one of the most decorated Olympians of all time, secured her spot on her fourth Olympic team immediately. She will officially be competing in the 400-meter freestyle, after finishing with a time under four minutes, and still has several events she has yet to compete in. Paige Madden will be joining Ledecky for the 400m freestyle. Aaron Shackell and Kiernan Smith will be competing in the race on the men’s side.
Gretchen Walsh is heading to the Olympics for the 100m butterfly, and set a world record at 55.18 seconds! Torri Huske also made the Olympic team for the 100m butterfly. Also heading to Paris are Nic Fink for the 100m breaststroke and Carson Foster for the 400m individual medley.
Day three saw a lot of final events. Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant will be going to their second Olympics, qualifying for the 400m individual medley. Luke Hobson and Chris Giuliano will be competing in the 200m freestyle in Paris. Ryan Murphy and Hunter Armstrong are going for the 100m backstroke. 5-time Olympic medalist Lilly King and Emma Weber are competing in Paris in the 100m breaststroke, and Claire Weinstein is making her Olympic debut for the 200m freestyle. Going over to diving, Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon will be the USA’s representatives for synchronized springboard diving.
3-time Olympic medalist Regan Smith broke the world record when she qualified for the 100m backstroke at 57.13 seconds! Joining her in Paris will be Olympic first-timer Katharine Berkoff. Robert Finke, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 400m freestyle, looks to defend his title in that race. And over to diving, Jessica Parratto and Delaney Schnell will be heading to Paris for synchronized platform diving, and Tyler Downs and Greg Duncan will be going for men’s synchronized springboard.
Day five qualified many swimmers to the Olympics. Kate Douglass and Torri Huske will be going for the 100m freestyle, the two will be joined by Gretchen Walsh and Simone Manuel for the 4x100m freestyle relay. 17-year-old Thomas Heilman is going to Paris for the 200m butterfly. Now, don’t act surprised: Katie Ledecky will be going to Paris for the 1500m freestyle and finished 20 seconds ahead of the rest of the competition. She will be joined by Katie Grimes, the pair making the iconic Katie Squared. Matt Fallon will be going for the 200m breaststroke. The men’s 100m freestyle race granted Chris Giuliano and Jack Alexy individual spots, with stars Caleb Dressel and Hunter Armstrong joining them in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Regan Smith qualified for another event with the 200m butterfly, and Ryan Murphy qualified for another backstroke event, this time in the 200m. Kate Douglass qualified for another event in the 200m breaststroke, the event in which Lilly King will join her. King’s excitement on the night does not end there, as she was proposed to after the race (she said yes!)!
On June 21, finals will occur for men’s 50m freestyle, women’s 200m backstroke, and men’s 200m individual medley. June 22 will feature the finals for men’s 100m butterfly, women’s 200m individual medley, women’s 800m freestyle, men’s platform and women’s springboard. June 23 will wrap up the Trials with the finals for women’s 50m freestyle, men’s 1500m freestyle, men’s springboard, and women’s platform.
Track and Field:
Track and field trials begin Friday, June 21, as does the first final that evening, which will be the men’s 10,000-meter race. The finals for women’s triple jump, men’s shot put, men’s 1500m decathlon, and women’s 100m will take place on the evening of June 22. The next day will see finals for women’s hammer throw, men’s pole vault, men’s javelin throw, women’s 400m, men’s 3000m steeplechase, and men’s 100m. The evening session on June 24 will have finals for women’s high jump, men’s long jump, men’s 1500m and 400m, and women’s 5000m and 800m. The finals for women’s discus and 3000m steeplechase will be on June 27. Men’s 110m hurdles are the only finals on June 28. The weekend of June 29 and 30 will be action-packed, featuring 17 finals. Men’s discus, women’s long jump, women’s 200m, women’s shot put, women’s 10,000m, and men’s 200m are on June 29. The last day of trials finishes with women’s pole vault, men’s hammer throw, high jump, and triple jump, women’s javelin, men’s 5000m and 800m, women’s 100m hurdles and 1500m, and men’s and women’s 400m hurdles.
Gymnastics:
The four-day gymnastics competition will feature two nights of competition for both men and women to determine the 5-person teams that will be sent to Paris. Men’s Day 1 will begin at 6:30 (EST) on June 27 and Day 2 will be June 29 at 3:00. Women’s Day 1 will be June 28 at 7:30 and Day 2 will begin at 8:00. The top all-arounder for the men and women, after the second day of competition, will have an automatic spot on the Olympic team, while the other four athletes will be determined by a selection committee.
Best of luck to all the athletes!
Edited By: Bailey Massey
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