Jordan Wilimovsky Becomes 1st American to Double in Pool & Open Water

2016 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS

• Sunday June 26th-Sunday July 3rd, 2016
• Century Link Center – Omaha, Nebraska
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On Sunday evening, in the final race of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Jordan Wilimovsky finished 2nd in the men’s 1500 free. He swam 14:49.19, which was 1.5 seconds behind the winner Connor Jaeger but 17 seconds ahead of the 3rd-place finisher, which qualified him again for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team.

That makes Wilimovsky the first American ever to qualify for the Olympic Games in both open water and the pool in the same year.

That designation will carry a special challenge in 2016. If Wilimovsky finals at the Olympics in the 1500, he will swim that race on the 13th, and the open water 10k just 3 days later on the 16th.

That’s the closest the two races have ever been together in the three editions of open water swimming at the Olympics. In 2008, the men’s 10k took place 4 days after the 1500m final, and in 2012 it was a whopping 6 days later.

Wilimovsky is not the first swimmer from anywhere to pull double duty. Famously, Ous Mellouli took bronze in the 1500 and then gold in the 10k in London four years ago, though as mentioned he had twice as big of a gap as Wilimovsky will. American Chloe Sutton swam the 400 at the 2012 Olympics in the pool and the 10k in 2008 in open water.

Wilimovsky is the defending World Champion in the 10km open water marathon swim. He’s training with his home club, Team Santa Monica in California, while taking a redshirt season from Northwestern University.