Two-time Olympian and suburban phenom Ryan Murphy has officially secured his spot on the U.S. team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Murphy, a Palos Heights native, turned heads Monday when he competed at the Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
The suburban swimmer touched the wall first in the men's 100-meter backstroke final with a time of 52.22 seconds.
Murphy, a University of California, Berkeley graduate, is no stranger to the sport, having competed in every Olympic Trials since 2012.
Hunter Armstrong finished behind Murphy and likely qualified for the Olympic Games as the second in the event. Armstrong finished in 52.72 seconds.
Not only was Murphy the fastest qualifier, he also improved his semi-final time by 0.4 seconds.
The Olympic veteran competed in both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
He returned from Rio with three gold medals: the 100-meter backstroke, the 200-meter backstroke and the 4×100-meter medley.
Additionally, he set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 51.85 seconds, a record that was subsequently broken by Italy's Thomas Ceccon, who clocked 51.60 seconds at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
In Tokyo, Murphy again won gold in the 4x100m relay, but finished with a silver in the 200m backstroke and a bronze in the 100m backstroke.
Though Murphy has already secured his ticket to Paris, he's not done competing in Indiana just yet.
Viewers will be able to see more of Murphy's 200m backstroke and 100m butterfly performances, which will likely be decided at the start of the meet.
The men's 200-meter backstroke semifinals will take place Wednesday night, with the final taking place Thursday night.
The men's 100m butterfly heats and semifinals will take place on Friday, with the finals set to decide the competitors on Saturday.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the men's 100m backstroke is scheduled for July 28th, so keep an eye on Murphy's performance.
See the full list of other Midwest swimmers to watch with six days left in the Trials here.
