The finals of the 100 freestyle events at the U.S. Nationals have resulted in different lineups for the 400 freestyle relays compared to previous major meets. Only two men from last year’s gold-medal-winning squad at the World Championships have secured relay spots, along with just one woman from last year’s bronze-medal team. Some veterans struggled to make it back onto the U.S. team, while other lesser-known swimmers recorded impressive performances that fell short in the competitive field. Despite this, there is still hope for the American women to challenge the dominant Australian team at the World Championships. Canada, the silver medalists in the last Olympics and World Championships, may face a drop in performance due to the absence of Penny Oleksiak. The current season-best times for both the Australian and American women’s teams show the Australians ahead by a little over a second. However, there are still uncertainties regarding injuries and the ability of swimmers to return to their personal bests, leaving room for the Americans to potentially put up a strong fight.
In the men’s relay, the American squad is deep and competitive, with the top swimmers from the prelims all expected to compete at the World Championships. However, the team lacks the consistent strong performance from Caeleb Dressel as an opener, who played a key role in the team’s previous gold medal victories. The final order of finishers in the men’s relay was different from the prelims, but the fastest quartet from the prelims will be representing the U.S. in Fukuoka. The decision on the relay lineups will be determined by U.S. men’s head coach Bob Bowman and the staff, taking into consideration the swimmers’ performances and season-best times. The Americans will enter the World Championships as slight favorites, but countries like Australia and Great Britain have also posted impressive times that put them in medal contention. The battle for the 400 freestyle relay could be a close one, with Australia’s Kyle Chalmers and Great Britain’s Duncan Scott as strong competitors. Italy is also a potential threat, having won gold at the European Championships last year. The American men will need their rookie international swimmers to replicate or exceed their Nationals times in order to secure a chance at winning gold and continue their dominance in the event.
