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Gretchen Walsh followed up a world record in the 100-meter butterfly with something that felt just as good.
Her first trip to the Olympics.
Walsh didn’t go quite as fast as a night earlier in the semifinals, but she touched in 55.31 seconds to claim the coveted Olympic berth against a loaded field at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Sunday.
On the second night of the trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Carson Foster made up for the disappointment of 2021, when he just missed out on the Olympics, with a victory in the men’s 400-meter individual medley.
And 30-year-old Nic Fink, whose wife is expecting a child, made it quite a Father’s Day by winning the 100-meter breaststroke.
Looking into the stands toward Melanie Margolis Fink—herself a gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Games—he made a rocking motion.
Clearly, Nic Fink’s mind was on more than just a gold of his own.
Women’s 100-meter butterfly final
Facing three medalists from the Tokyo Games, Walsh knew she had her work cut out for her—even after setting a world record in the semifinals with a time of 55.18 that broke the mark held by Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Following the same strategy, Walsh went out strong again in the final and was under her world-record pace at the turn.
Then, it was a matter of hanging on for the 21-year-old native of Nashville, Tennessee, who swims for the University of Virginia.
She finished with the second-fastest time in history, while Torri Huske grabbed the second Olympic spot with a time of 55.52 that made her the third-fastest woman in swimming history.
“I couldn’t ask for a better start to the meet,” Walsh said.
Regan Smith became the fourth-fastest female ever at 55.62—but the third-place showing wasn’t enough to get her to Paris on the powerhouse American team. She’ll have more chances later in the meet to claim her spot.
Kelly Pash of Carmel finished fifth in the final with a time of 57.72.
Alex Shackell of the Carmel Swim Club, who qualified fourth for the event, was a late scratch for the race, but she swam in the women’s 200-meter freestyle semifinals, finishing sixth in 1:57.42 to qualify for Monday night’s final.
Men’s 400-meter individual medley
The first final of the night produced another first-time Olympian when Foster knocked off Tokyo gold medalist Chase Kalisz.
But Kalisz should get a chance to defend his gold in Paris, taking the runner-up spot to claim the expected second American slot.
Jay Litherland, the 400 IM silver medalist in Tokyo, missed out on his third Olympics with a third-place showing.
Kyle Ponsler, a former Fishers High School swimmer who won the Indiana high school state title in the 500 freestyle in 2022, finished sixth with a time of 4:16.53.
Gregg Enoch of Noblesville, swimming for the Carmel Swim Club, placed seventh in 4:17.64.
The 22-year-old Foster, a native of Cincinnati who swan collegiately at Texas, led the entire race to finish in 4:07.64
He appeared on the verge of tears as Kalisz reached over the lane rope to give him a hug, knowing how much this meant to the winner.
At the 2021 trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Foster was the top seed coming out of the preliminaries, only to get chased down by both Kalisz and Litherland in the final.
The third-place finish cost Foster a trip to the Tokyo Games. When the Americans went 1-2 at the Olympics, the missed opportunity hurt even more.
Kalisz closed to within a tenth of a second on the breaststroke leg, but the 30-year-old simply didn’t have enough in the tank to keep up with the younger Foster. The winner pulled away on the freestyle, with Kalisz touching in 4:09.39.
Litherland faded at the end for a time of 4:12.34.
Men’s 100-meter breaststroke
Fink will be heading to his second Olympics after touching first in 59.08. He held off Charlie Swanson, who secured the expected second spot for Paris in 59.16.
“That’s a win for me,” Fink said, “but it’s really a win for everybody in my life.”
A life that will soon have a new addition.
Josh Matheny of the Indiana Swim Club finished third in 59:23.
Sunday’s semifinals
In semifinal events featuring Indiana-associated swimmers on Sunday night:
Drew Kibler of Carmel finished third in the men’s 200-meter freestyle in 1:45.82 to qualify for the final.
Blake Pieroni of Chesterton, swimming for the Indiana Swim Club, finished fifth in the men’s 200-meter freestyle to qualify for the final.
Chris Guiliano of the University of Notre Dame finished seventh in the 200-meter semifinal in 1:46.83 to qualify for the final.
Aaron Shackell of Carmel tied for eighth in the 200-meter semifinal before winning a swim-off against Daniel Diehl in 1:46.95 to grab the last spot in the final.
Tommy Janton of Notre Dame finished fifth in the men’s 100-meter backstroke in 53.61 to qualify for the final.
Lilly King of the University of Evansville and the Indiana Swim Club topped the field in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke semifinal in 1:05.57 to qualify for the final.
Anna Peplowski of the Indiana Swim Club finished seventh in the women’s 200-meter freestyle semifinals in 1:57.55 to make the finals.
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