Versatility Reigns Supreme For The 2024 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swim Team

By SwimSwam Contributors on SwimSwam

Courtesy: Karen Gleason

The 2024 Paris Olympics showcase the remarkable range and versatility of the U.S. swimmers. Both the men’s and women’s teams display exceptional talent. However, the women’s team stands out, particularly in its ability to cover a wide array of events and distances.

Women’s Visual

Men’s Visual

A remarkable 10 female swimmers have qualified for multiple events, spanning all 14 Olympic disciplines. Both individual and relay qualifiers are included for the 100 and 200 freestyle. The legendary Katie Ledecky leads the charge, qualifying for four different events. First-time Olympians Gretchen Walsh and Paige Madden, along with veteran Regan Smith, each qualified in three events. Smith narrowly missed qualifying in a 4th event, with a 3rd place finish in the 100 fly.

Five women excel across two disciplines: Gretchen Walsh, Torri Huske, and Alex Shackell in freestyle and butterfly; Regan Smith in butterfly and backstroke; and Katie Grimes in freestyle and individual medley. Notably, Kate Douglass will compete in an impressive three disciplines: freestyle, breaststroke, and individual medley.

Four women qualified at multiple distances for a single stroke. Katie Ledecky and Paige Madden will cover the longer freestyle events, while Simone Manuel specializes in the sprints. In breaststroke, the exceptional Lilly King has qualified for her third Olympics, competing in both breaststroke events.

Both the 100 and 200 freestyle are essential for the relay events. The 100 free includes Douglass, Huske, Walsh, and Manuel, while the 200 free features Ledecky, Madden, and Shackell. Interestingly, there is no crossover between the 100 and 200 freestyle, with Simone Manuel narrowly missing a spot in the 200 freestyle with a seventh-place finish.

The women’s chart clearly highlights the distance prowess of Ledecky, Madden, and Grimes on the right side, with Grimes also qualifying for the longer open water race and nearly qualifying for the 200 freestyle with an eighth-place finish. On the left side, the sprint specialists—Gretchen Walsh, Huske, and Manuel—are prominently featured. In the middle are the aces of the 100 and 200 events: Douglass, Smith, King, and Shackell.

While the U.S. male Olympians also exhibit versatility, they do not quite match the breadth of the women’s team. Eight male swimmers will compete in two events, covering all but two breaststroke distances. No male swimmer has qualified in four events, though veterans Caeleb Dressel and newcomer Chris Guiliano have each qualified in three events.

Two men will compete in two strokes: Dressel in freestyle and butterfly, and Hunter Armstrong in freestyle and backstroke. The remaining six multiple qualifiers specialize in single disciplines: Carson Foster in individual medley; Guiliano, Kieran Smith, and Bobby Finke in freestyle; Thomas Heilman in butterfly; and Ryan Murphy in backstroke.

For the freestyle relay distances, Guiliano and Dressel qualified for the 100, with Guiliano also crossing over to the 200, alongside Kieran Smith and Armstrong.

Overall, the 2024 U.S. Women’s Olympic Swim Team demonstrates unparalleled versatility and depth, setting a high bar for swimming excellence on the world stage.

ABOUT KAREN GLEASON

Karen Gleason is a professor emerita and a former NCAA Division III All-American swimmer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She still enjoys swimming in various bodies of water, including Walden Pond.

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