How did the Doha team perform at the U.S. Olympic Trials?

The 2024 Doha World Championships will go down in history as somewhat of an anomaly. Some countries treated it as an in-season event, while others approached it like any other world championship. Many were concerned that holding the world championships at the beginning of an Olympic year would interfere with athletes' preparations for the Paris Games.

The U.S. sent just 20 athletes to swim in Doha, fielding a roster that was a mix of big names and newbies. With the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials now over, here's how the athletes performed.

At first glance, seven members of the Doha swim team will compete in Paris later this summer: four of them will be making their Olympic debut and three will represent the U.S. in Tokyo. Three swimmers from the Tokyo team did not qualify for a second Olympic Games.

In Doha, open water swimmers competed for Olympic berths, with six athletes from the United States competing.

First Olympian from Texas*

Seven athletes who represented the United States in Doha have been selected to the Olympic team, four of whom are making their Olympic debut.

Shane Casas and Carson Foster The two are the most experienced of the group and were teammates at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Coincidentally, both have qualified for Paris in the 200m individual medley (Foster also qualified in the 400m individual medley).

The performance in Doha was redemption for both athletes who were considered favourites to make the Tokyo team in 2021 but who both finished in a disappointing third place at the qualifying tournament.

Interestingly, Casas will not compete in the 200m individual medley at the 2021 Trials, instead choosing to focus his efforts on the backstroke.

The other two are Luke Hobson and David Johnstonhave also been named to the 2023 World Championships team. Hobson has qualified to compete in the 200m freestyle after winning bronze in Doha, while Johnston has qualified to compete in the 1500m freestyle after not even competing in the event in February.

All four Olympic first-timers have ties to the University of Texas, with Casas, Foster and Hobson all training in Austin, and Johnston spent a redshirt season training with Mark Schubert's swim team in El Toro, Calif., but plans to return to Texas in the fall.

It is also worth noting that neither Casas nor Johnston won any individual medals in Doha.

Returning Olympic Athletes

Leading the three Olympians returning from the Doha team are Kate DouglasDouglas qualified to compete in the 200 m individual medley, 200 m breaststroke, and 100 m freestyle. In Doha, she won medals in two events: the 200 m, a gold medal in the individual medley, a silver medal in the breaststroke, and a silver medal in the 50 m freestyle. Despite becoming the American record holder in the 50 m freestyle after her performance in Doha, Douglas chose not to compete in the event at the Trials.

Douglas has expanded her program the most out of the three, as she only competed in the 200 individual medley in Tokyo. She plans to add two more individual events to her Olympic program and a couple more relay events between the 400 freestyle, 400 medley and mixed medley.

Hunter Armstrong He also had an expanded Olympic program compared to three years ago. He again qualified in the 100m backstroke, placed fourth in the 100m freestyle, and qualified for the 4 × 100m freestyle relay. He competed in the men's and mixed 400m freestyle relays in Doha, winning bronze medals in both. He also won the 100m backstroke and finished second in the 50m backstroke.

Nick Fink In Doha, he won medals in all three breaststroke events, winning bronze in the 50 and 200 metres and gold in the 100 metres. In Paris, he qualified only for the 100 metres breaststroke, but in Tokyo, he only missed out on the 200 metres.

Big mistake

Claire Curzan Karzan is perhaps the biggest miss of the group. Despite a spectacular run that included becoming just the second woman to win the 50-100-200 backstroke at a world championships, she missed out on qualifying for her second Olympic Games. In Doha, Karzan set personal bests in all three backstroke events and a season's best in the 100 butterfly to win the silver medal.

The closest Curzan came to qualifying for Paris was when she placed third in the 200 backstroke. Her best time was a second-place finish in the final. She also competed in the 100 butterfly in Tokyo, where she placed fourth overall. Curzan was slower in every event at the Trials compared to her time in Doha.

Michael Andrew Andrew is another Tokyo Olympian who didn't perform to his potential at the trials. In Doha he only competed in the 50m, winning a silver medal in the 50m butterfly. As the Olympic schedule only included one of these events, Andrew competed in the 50m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 100m butterfly at the trials. Andrew made it to the finals in the first two events (which were part of the Tokyo program along with the 200m individual medley) but finished 5th and 8th respectively.

Andrew is the American record holder in the 100m breaststroke, but he hasn't performed anywhere near his best the past two years.

In Doha, the U.S. didn't have a previously undisputed individual medalist, but it has another athlete at the Tokyo Olympics. Zach HartingThree years ago, Harting placed ninth in the 200m butterfly in her only appearance, and 11th in Doha. Harting also competed in the 100m butterfly, placing sixth.

Harting had a surprising end to the qualifying round, setting two best times in the 100 butterfly heat and semi-final, but finished in fourth place behind three other swimmers who broke the 51-second barrier.

lastly, Jack Akins Although she failed to win an individual medal in Doha, she was expected to qualify for the 200m backstroke, but she was unable to overcome the strong dominance of the University of California swimmer in the event, losing to the veteran Ryan Murphy And new students Keaton Jones.

Young Raiser

Although they did not qualify for the Olympics, some of the athletes in Doha rode the momentum and put in some strong performances at the trials.

Lila Bogner, Kayla Hannand Kate Hurst All competed late at the World Championships, and all reached at least one final at the Olympic Trials. Bogner reached the finals of the 200m and 400m individual medley, placing third in the longer individual medley. Hurst also reached two finals, placing sixth in the 800m freestyle and fourth in the 1500m freestyle.

Han's first day in Indianapolis was a rollercoaster ride. After finishing just nine tenths of a second outside the top eight in the 400m freestyle, she was forced to compete in a night swim as a scratch two spots early. Han took advantage of the opportunity, shaving more than a second off her entry time to finish in fourth place after being seeded 16th.

These three swimmers have not yet enrolled in college, but they could be players to watch in the upcoming fourth round.

Open Water Footnotes

The United States also sent six athletes to compete in the open water events in Doha. Michael Brinegar, Joshua Brown, Charlie Clarke, Mariah Dennigan, Katie Grimesand Ivan Puskovich.

Grimes had already qualified for Paris by winning bronze in the 10km in Fukuoka, but Dennigan and Puskovic qualified through their performances in Doha. Dennigan placed sixth in the 10km and Puskovic placed 14th in the men's event. This will be the first Olympic Games for both athletes.

Pool swimming results sheet

The following table is arranged by U.S. team, players who advanced to the finals and semifinals, and players who did not advance, and alphabetically within each group.