Before the Paris 2024 trials even began, she was virtually declared the program's next big thing, and nothing Douglas did here contradicts that notion.
The latest in one of the most versatile and unique swimming talents of recent memory, Douglas came close to breaking the world record in the women's 200-meter breaststroke final on Thursday night, winning in a commanding meet record time of 2 minutes 19.46 seconds — nearly 2.5 seconds faster than runner-up Lily King (2 minutes 21.93 seconds).
“It's pretty cool to have your face on the stadium,” Douglas said. “It was definitely intimidating at first, seeing it and feeling the pressure, but I think I handled it well.”
Douglas, 22, from the University of Virginia, will compete in just her second individual event in Paris after winning the 100 freestyle the night before, and is likely to compete in three relay events. She is also a favorite to win Saturday's 200 individual medley, in which she won a bronze medal in Tokyo. She is also still entered in the 50 freestyle, where she holds the American record, but is widely expected to withdraw from the latter event.
King, 27, qualified for Paris in her second individual event by finishing second in the 100m breaststroke. But the highlight of the night came when her boyfriend suddenly appeared near the warm-up pool a few minutes after the race, got down on one knee and proposed marriage as NBC cameras watched. King, known for performing well under pressure, accepted.
Also on Thursday, another American multi-stroke star, Regan Smith, won the 200 butterfly after winning the 100 backstroke earlier in the tournament, completing the four strokes in 2 minutes 5.70 seconds, nearly a second faster than 17-year-old Alex Schakel (2 minutes 6.69 seconds). Schakel finished second and earned a spot on the Paris roster that also includes his brother Aaron, who won the 400 freestyle on the first day of competition. Both will be making their Olympic debuts.
Three-time Olympian Ryan Murphy predicted he would win the 200m backstroke, making history in the event. He became the first male swimmer to achieve this feat in three consecutive US Trials. Fellow UC Berkeley alum Keaton Jones took second place in 1:54.61 and was seen holding on to the lane line after the race in tears when Murphy reached over to give him a hug.
Meanwhile, consider Jack Aikens, who placed third in the 100 backstroke two days ago and again on Thursday night, but between those two races he missed out on qualifying for Paris by just 0.2 seconds.
Like Murphy, Caleb Dressel will be competing in his third Olympic Games in Paris. Dressel, who is already a member of the national team for the 4x100m freestyle relay, is a five-time gold medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and won the 50m freestyle semifinal on Thursday night in 21.61 seconds, his fastest time over the distance in more than two years, and he is seeded second in Friday night's final behind Chris Juliano (21.59).
And in the most shocking moment of the night, sprinters Adam Chaney and Jonny Crow, who had tied for eighth place (21.89) in the men's 50m freestyle semi-finals and were forced to compete in a swim-off for the last spot in Friday night's final, tied again in 21.79 to elicit cheers of surprise from the crowd. After a roughly 45-minute cool-down period, they had nothing better to do than compete in another swim-off, which this time Chaney won, 21.81 to 21.99.
Amid the outrageous drama and outlandish performances of this tournament where the difference between glory and grief is dangerously small, Douglas has worked in methodical, drama-free fashion these past few days. When he wins, it looks like he expected to win. When he loses, it doesn't.
A unicorn swimmer who can swim six individual events and medal in any or all of them, physical fitness and the Olympic schedule allowing, Douglas is attempting to do something no American woman has ever done before: compete in the Olympics as an individual swimmer in freestyle, breaststroke and individual medley.
Douglas won a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago at age 19, but it's been the past three years since then that have transformed her into a medal-devouring machine: seven gold medals at the 2022 NCAA Championships; becoming the first swimmer to win titles in three different individual strokes (freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke) across both genders; seven more gold medals at the 2023 NCAA Championships; and six medals, including two golds, at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
“Confidence,” University of Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo, who also serves as Team USA women's head coach in Paris, said of Douglas' promotion. “It's not that I didn't have confidence before, but I didn't know what I was capable of doing before. My first two years. [at Virginia]Every time she does something great, I'm blown away. When I first met her in freshman year, I told her she had the potential to be an Olympian. She had the talent. It took a lot to get to that level, but she did it. She sets pretty high goals and works really hard.”
Douglas's goals likely didn't include walking past a photo of herself erected eight stories high as she entered the football stadium to swim in one of the most unusual Olympic trials anyone has ever attempted. But here she is, and by the end of the summer, they may decide to leave it there permanently.
