Team USA swimming trials for the Paris Olympics will be held from June 15 to 23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
This will be a historic event, as this is the first time the U.S. Swimming trials will be held in an NFL stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, that has been completely transformed into a temporary natatorium, which means that 250,000 spectators will be in house to make the atmosphere electric.
As far as trials by the numbers, the U.S. is proving why it is so competitive to make the team.
This year’s trials ahead of the Olympics will feature 573 men and 434 women, for a total of 1,007 of the nation’s best swimmers. They will be vying for a little more than 50 spots.
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USA Swimming says 139 of those athletes are between the ages of 13-17 and more than half of the field are new athletes to trials.
843 athletes will compete in the freestyle, 318 will compete in the backstroke, 293 will complete in the butterfly, 309 athletes will compete in the breaststroke and 341 will be in the individual medley (IM) which includes all three strokes.
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Several North Texas swimmers are slated to be in Indianapolis for the trials and at least three of them will be from SMU. Danny Kovac, Cotton Fields and Jack Hoagland will all be representing the school in the trials.
Qualifying heats begin Saturday, June 15 in the morning on NBC's streaming service Peacock and then day one coverage continues in primetime with two finals at 7 p.m. CT on NBC 5.
In each of the 28 races, the margins can be incredibly narrow according to Rowdy Gaines, NBC Swimming Analyst.
"There could be four one-hundredths of a second (0.04) between three swimmers," Gaines said. "That's how tight it is in becoming, having a dream come true, and becoming an Olympian, which lasts forever, or going home in third place and not being that Olympian. It's heartbreaking.
For reference here, in the 2021 trials, five swimmers missed making the team by 0.2 of a second or less.
Team USA swimming trials will be televised on NBC platforms, including streaming service Peacock, throughout the events.
