2016 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS
- Sunday June 26th-Sunday July 3rd, 2016
- Century Link Center – Omaha, Nebraska
- Friday-Sunday – Prelims – 11:00 am EDT Finals – 7:45 pm EDT
- SwimSwam Preview Links & Schedule
- NBC Televison Coverage Schedule
- Psych Sheets
- Live results
Nathan Adrian won the 100 free last night, punching his ticket to Rio, and he had a very smooth 50 free this morning at 21.96.
That’s right– Adrian. Smooth. Sub-22.
America’s premier sprinter wasn’t utilizing his straight-arm technique, and he cruised into the wall like Michael Phelps did at the end of his 200 IM prelims swim. And he still went under 22 seconds despite it looking like he was warming down the last 5 meters.
For comparison, here’s where Adrian was in prelims, semifinals, and finals at the 2012 Olympic Trials:
- Prelims: 22.06, 2nd
- Semifinals: 21.81, T-2nd
- Finals: 21.68, 3rd
Adrian did not make the team in this event in 2012, and while the top few is very crowded with Caeleb Dressel, Anthony Ervin, and Cullen Jones, the Cal alumnus looks like he can drop at least four or five tenths of a second tomorrow night in semifinals.
Most of the pressure is off for Adrian, who is already on the U.S. Olympic team for the individual 100 free and the 4×100 free relay, and he now looks very dangerous in this 50.
Prediction: 21.25 in the finals for Adrian.
Too bad we won’t be able to see the semis, since NBC continues their botch spree.
NBC coverage is ridiculous – they’re focused on a coterie of pre-selected favorites, ignoring the others. Women’s 50, for eg, Rowdy was openly cheering for Madison Kennedy, who they called repeatedly “a free spirit.” For NBC, their little narrative they choose for their favorite swimmers supposedly makes the race more interesting to people who don’t follow swimming.
If they allowed full body suits, he could just pull out his Superman suit for the final. That performance was total beast.
Race video?
No race videos for prelims
If you go to the main Swimswam page, there is a list of links to prelim videos down the left hand side. Click “Day 6 prelims” while they’re still swimming, and it’ll drop you into the live coverage. You can then rewind to find the 50 free heats.