SwimSwam Pulse: Overwhelming Majority Favor Held To Rebound & Make 2022 Worlds

SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.

Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which 2016 U.S. Olympian had the best chance of rebounding and making 2022 Worlds after missing the 2021 Olympic team:

RESULTS

Question: Which 2016 US Olympian that missed the team in Tokyo do you think has the best chance of qualifying for the 2022 World Championships?

• Ryan Held – 86.7%
• Cody Miller – 5.3%
• Jacob Pebley – 3.4%
• Jack Conger – 2.4%
• Kevin Cordes – 2.2%

The poll was a follow-up to one we ran in December that asked the same question on the women’s side, where Kelsi Dahlia emerged as the leading vote-getter at 48 percent.

That came as no surprise, as Dahlia was coming off of breaking the world record in the SCM 100 butterfly, and the same goes for the result here.

Ryan Held, who initially appeared to be in a position to be named to the 2021 Olympic team but ended up losing his spot in the 400 free relay due to roster numbers, picked up a ton of momentum in December and lands at the top of the poll with over 86 percent of votes.

Held picked up six medals at the Short Course World Championships last month in Abu Dhabi, including two relay golds and a pair of individual silvers in the 50 and 100 freestyle.

The 26-year-old then had a video posted online of him clocking 29.6 in a push 75 free (SCY, without fins), further showing he’s on incredible form.

Though perhaps the poll might’ve been a bit closer had we distinguished it to be only for qualifying in an individual event, with Held the benefactor of having more spots available to qualify for Worlds in due to the 400 free relay, he’s got a great chance to make the team individually.

Held, now training at Arizona State University, is the second-fastest American in the 100 free since the beginning of 2019, having hit a best time of 47.39 in July 2019, and ranks third in the 50 free with his PB of 21.62 from April 2021.

The other options in the poll all picked up a small portion of votes, led by breaststroker Cody Miller, who won bronze in the 100 breast back at the 2016 Games in Rio.

Two 2016 Olympians that weren’t included in the poll were Nathan Adrian and Josh Prenot, who haven’t announced retirement, but also haven’t shown any indication they’re training for the 2022 World Trials, which are only a few months away.

Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Will having the 2023 World Championships in November diminish the quality of swimming?

 Loading ...

ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE

The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.