INDIANAPOLIS — Four of America's biggest swimming stars competed at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials on Thursday night.
The quartet – Ryan Murphy, Regan Smith, Kate Douglas and Lily King – won their second individual title in Paris with a performance in a temporary pool at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Murphy led the way in the men's 200m backstroke, following up his victory in the 100m backstroke. Smith also won the women's 200m butterfly after setting a world record in the 100m backstroke. Douglas followed up her win in the 200m breaststroke the night before with a win in the 100m freestyle.
King finished behind Douglas, narrowly beating Alex Walsh to secure the second U.S. Olympic berth. King also won the 100-meter breaststroke.
Murphy used some impressive underwater technique to hold off Keaton Jones and Jack Akins, finishing in 1 minute, 54.33 seconds, and as he saw his name at the top of the scoreboard for the second time in the meet, Murphy slammed the water in triumph.
Jones finished in 1:54.61, placing second in the Olympic standings, but it was another heartbreaking finish for Akins, who came in third in 1:54.78, the same place he took in the 100 backstroke that missed out on a spot in Paris by just 0.2 seconds.
Smith fell behind 17-year-old Alex Shackell coming around the final corner but fought back to win in 2:05.70. Shackell, from suburban Carmel, thrilled the hometown crowd by taking second place in the Olympic Games in 2:06.69.
Ryan Murphy swims in the men's 200-meter backstroke final at the USA Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, Thursday, June 20, 2024. Photo by AP/Daron Cummings
Shackell will compete in the Olympics alongside his 19-year-old brother Aaron, who was named to the team after winning the 400m freestyle on the first day of trials. Their father, Nick Shackell, represented Great Britain at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.
Douglas won the 200-meter breaststroke, swimming the first half of the race at world record pace and finishing in 2 minutes 19.46 seconds.
King was in third place going into the final corner, but picked up the pace on the final lap to finish second in 2 minutes 21.93 seconds.
When King emerged from the pool, another big prize was waiting for her: Her boyfriend pulled out a ring, got down on one knee and proposed marriage, which she accepted with a big hug.
Regan Smith swims in the women's 200-meter butterfly final at the USA Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, Thursday, June 20, 2024. Photo by AP/Daron Cummings
Walsh, a silver medalist in the 200m individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics, was unable to compete with her sister, Gretchen, on this year's Olympic team.
Alex Walsh still has a chance to make the national team in the 200m individual medley, which begins on Friday.
A night after finishing third in the 100 freestyle and missing out on defending his Olympic title in that event, Caleb Dressel bounced back with the second-fastest time in the 50 freestyle semifinals.
Dressel needs to finish in the top two in the 50m freestyle final on Friday night to win his first individual Olympic gold medal in Paris. The tattooed Florida native was one of the big stars in Tokyo, winning five gold medals, but he hasn't been as dominant since returning from an extended break.
