At one point during Thursday morning’s prelim session at U.S. Nationals, the fans inside the Indiana University Natatorium would give a rousing ovation whenever the venue announcers would say, “The results are official.” But after the majority of 400 IM heats, the meet came to a grinding halt, with results “pending video review.” Numerous swimmers were disqualified, most for the vague-sounding violation of “dolphin kick during breaststroke.” As the DQs kept coming, fans began booing.

The most high-profile of these DQs was Emma Weyant, the University of Florida swimmer who was the Olympic silver medalist in the 400 IM and the World Championships bronze medalist last year. Weyant finished second behind Alex Walsh in the second-to-last heat of the event, and if her time had counted, she would have been the No. 2 qualifier for the final. She was not a lock to qualify for the team not against Walsh and Katie Grimes but very much a contender. And with no true backup events to fall back on, the DQ essentially eliminated Weyant from World Championships contention.

 

Before even arriving in Indianapolis, Caeleb Dressel and his coach, Anthony Nesty, knew that a trip to a fourth consecutive World Championships was an unlikely proposition. For all of Dressel’s talent and his résumé, taking six months away from normal training was far too much to overcome in just a couple months. When Dressel returned to swimming in late February, he started with only three practices per week, adding one additional workout every two weeks before topping out at eight in early May.

“The people who came here to qualify for the meet, except for one DQ, did, and we’re pretty happy with where we’re at,” Nesty said, revealing his pre-meet expectations for Dressel without even uttering his name.

Dressel’s trip to U.S. Nationals officially concluded Saturday morning when he tied for 22nd in the 50 freestyle prelims. His time of 22.72 came up 1.68 seconds behind his own American record of 21.04. Dressel chose to scratch the C-final and return home. Previously, Dressel had finished third in the 50 butterfly (23.35), in a tie for fifth in the 100 fly (51.66) and 19th in the 100 free (49.64), with none of his times close to his career-bests.

With the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle as her top priorities for this month’s World Championships in Fukuoka, Katie Ledecky will drop the 200 freestyle from her individual program. Ledecky was second in the 200 free at the United States National Championships, finishing behind Claire Weinstein. Her decision to vacate her slot in the event moves Bella Sims, Weinstein’s teammate with the Sandpipers of Nevada, into the 200 free at Worlds.

Ledecky made the same decision for the 2022 World Championships, but she will remain a key figure on the American 800 freestyle relay. Sims will now race the 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle in Japan, as she placed second to Ledecky in the longer of the races on Day Four of Nationals in Indianapolis.

A domino effect of Ledecky’s decision is the addition of Anna Peplowski, who placed seventh in the 200 free, to the Worlds team. Peplowski was eligible to be added since the U.S. women’s team had not yet reached the roster cap.