By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
2021 U.S. OLYMPIC SWIMMING TRIALS
- When:
- Wave I Dates: June 4-7, 2021
- Wave II Dates: June 13-20, 2021
- Prelims: 10am CDT | Finals: 7pm CDT
- Where: CHI Health Center / Omaha, Nebraska
- 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Qualifying Cuts
- Wave I & II Event Order
- LCM (50m)
- Day 3 Finals Live Stream
- Psych Sheets
- Wave II Live Results
With all eyes on him, Jake Mitchell delivered one of the most memorable Olympic qualifying swims in U.S. Trials history.
As the third night of finals from the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials wound down on Tuesday night, up stepped Mitchell to the blocks—all on his own—to race a time trial in the men’s 400 freestyle.
The plan for a time trial popped up after winner Kieran Smith was the only one under the Olympic qualifying time of 3:46.78 in the men’s 400 free final on Sunday night. Smith touched first in 3:44.86, and Mitchell placed second in 3:48.17.
It was a situation we’ve never seen before at the U.S. Trials, so we had to dig into the selection criteria to figure out exactly who could snag that second Olympic spot.
Since Zane Grothe, who placed 11th in the 400 free prelims, had been under the ‘A’ cut inside the Olympic qualifying period, he would earn the Olympic spot if no one else who had finished ahead of him at Trials went under the standard inside the period, which ends on June 27.
As the event’s runner-up, that gave Mitchell first dibs on a potential spot—all he had to do was get under 3:46.78, and it was his (even if someone else went faster, since he finished ahead of them in the Trials final).
So, swimming all on his own, with an electric crowd on its feet, the 19-year-old Carmel Swim Club member went out with reckless abandon in the race, flipping two seconds faster at the 100 and more than three at the 200 compared to his time in the individual final.
His second 200 was split similarly, and he ultimately crushed the qualifying time by close to a second in 3:45.86, torching his 2019 best time of 3:47.95 by over two seconds.
Split Comparison
| 400 FR Final | 400 FR TT |
| 26.28 | 25.16 |
| 28.34 (54.62) | 27.47 (52.63) |
| 28.98 (1:23.60) | 28.47 (1:21.10) |
| 29.32 (1:52.92) | 28.76 (1:49.86) |
| 29.47 (2:22.39) | 29.13 (2:18.99) |
| 29.28 (2:51.67) | 28.90 (2:47.89) |
| 28.71 (3:20.38) | 29.13 (3:17.02) |
| 27.79 (3:48.17) | 28.84 (3:45.86) |
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Mitchell moves up from 24th to 11th all-time among Americans in the event, and will likely earn his first Olympic berth provided the number of roster spots don’t exceed the limit (26 per gender).
You can watch the full race via Jared Daigle on Instagram below:
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Read the full story on SwimSwam: The Most Electric Time Trial In Swimming History
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