Luke Whitlock Becomes Youngest Male To Make Olympic Team Since 2000, Crushes 17-18 NAG

By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam

2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS

June 15-23, 2024
Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN
LCM (50 Meters)
Session Start Times (ET):

11 a.m. Prelims
7:45 p.m. Finals (varying based on broadcast needs)

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Luke Whitlock, 18, had the swim of his life in the men’s 800 freestyle final. After qualifying first for the final, Whitlock held his own against a mostly older and more experienced field. He finished second with a huge lifetime best of 7:45.19, likely earning his spot on the Paris 2024 Olympic team.

Once he’s named to the team, Whitlock will be the youngest American man to make the U.S. Olympic swimming roster since 2000, when Michael Phelps earned his berth for the Sydney Games at 15 years old.

Whitlock’s swim obliterated Larsen Jensen‘s boys’ 17-18 National Age Group Record, which had stood since the 2003 World Championships. Whitlock cut nearly three seconds off Jensen’s previous standard of 7:48.09.

It was an even bigger drop compared to Whitlock’s previous best time of 7:50.20, which he swam exactly a month ago at the Indy May Cup.

Whitlock — 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials Final
Whitlock — 2024 Indy May Cup

100
55.51
56.85

200
1:53.56 (58.05)
1:56.13 (59.28)

300
2:51.92 (58.36)
2:55.84 (59.71)

400
3:50.38 (58.46)
3:55.23 (59.39)

500
4:49.18 (58.80)
4:54.54 (59.31)

600
5:48.15 (58.97)
5:53.75 (59.21)

700
6:47.27 (59.12)
6:52.97 (59.22)

800
7:45.19 (57.92)
7:50.20 (57.23)

In this race, Whitlock’s back half was noticeably impressive because he actually began to close the gap to the back-half master himself, Bobby Finke. He posted a 57.92 on the closing 100 of the race compared to Finke’s 58.53. But compared to his previous lifetime best, Whitlock did all of the damage through the first 600 meters of the race.

At the Indy Cup he held 59s through the 200 to 700 meter mark. At Olympic Trials, he was able to hold 58s all the way through 600 meters. And even though he jumped up to 59.12 on the penultimate 100, he was still faster than he was on that split back in May.

Whitlock has been on fire through the first half of the meet. He qualified first for the 400 freestyle on Day 1, where he eventually finished 5th and moved to #2 all-time in the 17-18 age group behind Jensen.

Whitlock just graduated from high school. In the fall, he’ll join a deep distance group at the University of Florida that’s full of NCAA and international stars–including Finke who is now his Olympic teammate. He still has the 1500m freestyle on the schedule for this week, where he’s seeded 7th in 15:07.94, a lifetime best he also swam at the Indy May Cup.

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