The parity in U.S. men’s swimming is evident in the nation’s best times in 2024. Over the 14 individual Olympic events, 12 different American men have posted the fastest swim this year.
At the Olympic Trials — June 15-23 at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium — the top two make the team for Paris individually, should they also have hit the Olympic qualifying standard time.
The top six in the 100m and 200m freestyles make it for relay purposes, should the overall U.S. roster not exceed 26 men. To stay under that limit, some swimmers need to qualify in multiple events.
Caeleb Dressel did just that for the Tokyo Games. He then won the Olympic 50m and 100m frees, plus the 100m butterfly, joining Michael Phelps and Mark Spitz as the only men to earn three individual swimming golds at one Games.
Dressel took a mental health break from swimming for about eight months in late 2022 and early 2023. He is a contender to make the team in the 50m and 100m frees and the fastest American this year in the 100m fly.
In 2021, Carson Foster placed third and fourth in the individual medleys at Olympic Trials at age 19. Though he missed the team, he later swam a 400m IM in 4:08.46 in Austin, Texas, one day before Chase Kalisz won the Tokyo Olympic final in 4:09.42.
In 2022, Foster won silver in both IMs at the world championships (both behind French superstar Leon Marchand). In 2023, Foster won both IMs at the U.S. Championships. He goes into trials as the fastest American in both events this year.
Kalisz, 30, ranks second in both IMs behind Foster this year. The only older Americans to swim the 200m IM at an Olympics were Phelps and Ryan Lochte, according to the OlyMADMen. Kalisz would be the oldest American to swim the Olympic 400m IM by two and a half years.
Veterans will also look to hold off emerging challengers in other events.
Such as Ryan Murphy, who swept the backstrokes at the 2016 Rio Games. Now 28, he is older than any American who has ever swum the 200m back at an Olympics. Murphy ranks second in the U.S. this year in both backstrokes, just above a 19-year-old in each distance.
Bobby Finke swept the 800m and 1500m free titles in Tokyo. Though other Americans have been faster so far this year, they are not near Finke’s top times from 2022 and 2023. Finke won the 800m and 1500m each by at least six seconds at nationals the last two years. He also won a medal in both races at worlds in 2022 and 2023.
2024 U.S. Men’s Swimming Rankings
Times from USA Swimming database.
50m Freestyle
1. Ryan Held — 21.68
2. Michael Andrew — 21.71
3. Caeleb Dressel — 21.84
4. Jack Alexy — 21.86
5. Jonny Kulow — 21.89
100m Freestyle
1. Chris Guiliano — 47.49
2. Matt King — 48.02
3. Jack Alexy — 48.20
4. Caeleb Dressel — 48.30
4. Ryan Held — 48.30
6. Hunter Armstrong — 48.37
7. Brooks Curry — 48.68
8. Drew Kibler — 48.73
9. Blake Pieroni — 48.74
10. Jonny Kulow — 48.75
200m Freestyle
1. Luke Hobson — 1:45.26
2. Drew Kibler — 1:46.02
3. Aaron Shackell — 1:46.35
4. Carson Foster — 1:46.58
5. Kieran Smith — 1:47.00
6. Blake Pieroni — 1:47.02
7. Gabriel Jett — 1:47.16
8. Caeleb Dressel — 1:47.38
9. Luca Urlando — 1:47.42
10. Grant House — 1:47.51
400m Freestyle
1. David Johnston — 3:46.99
2. Jake Magahey — 3:47.61
3. Carson Foster — 3:47.64
4. Kieran Smith — 3:48.70
5. Aaron Shackell — 3:48.92
800m Freestyle
1. David Johnston — 7:48.20
2. Luke Whitlock — 7:50.20
3. Bobby Finke — 7:53.35
4. Charlie Clark — 7:54.87
5. Michael Brinegar — 7:57.11
1500m Freestyle
1. Charlie Clark — 14:57.44
2. Bobby Finke — 14:58.08
3. David Johnston — 15:02.68
4. Luke Whitlock — 15:07.94
5. Michael Brinegar — 15:09.72
100m Backstroke
1. Hunter Armstrong — 52.68
2. Ryan Murphy — 53.16
3. Jack Wilkening — 53.37
4. Shaine Casas — 53.54
5. Jack Aikins — 53.72
200m Backstroke
1. Jack Aikins — 1:56.21
2. Ryan Murphy — 1:56.64
3. Keaton Jones — 1:56.79
4. Ian Grum — 1:58.20
5. Hunter Tapp — 1:58.52
100m Breaststroke
1. Nic Fink — 58.57
2. Jake Foster — 59.48
3. Michael Andrew — 59.82
4. Noah Nichols — 1:00.58
5. Matt Fallon — 1:00.62
200m Breaststroke
1. Matt Fallon — 2:08.18
2. Jake Foster — 2:08.78
3. Nic Fink — 2:08.85
4. Daniel Roy — 2:09.57
5. Will Licon — 2:10.96
100m Butterfly
1. Caeleb Dressel — 50.84
2. Shaine Casas — 51.40
3. Zach Harting — 51.68
4. Dare Rose — 51.72
5. Michael Andrew — 51.83
200m Butterfly
1. Luca Urlando — 1:55.63
2. Chase Kalisz — 1:55.97
3. Zach Harting — 1:56.12
4. Thomas Heilman — 1:56.41
5. Trenton Julian — 1:56.97
200m Individual Medley
1. Carson Foster — 1:56.97
2. Chase Kalisz — 1:57.51
3. Shaine Casas — 1:57.62
4. Grant House — 1:58.69
5. Trenton Julian — 1:58.89
400m Individual Medley
1. Carson Foster — 4:10.79
2. Chase Kalisz — 4:12.45
3. David Johnston — 4:12.51
4. Bobby Finke — 4:14.44
5. Jay Litherland — 4:16.38
