Dressel, Ledecky romp to wins at US swim trials
Richardson notches colorful win at trials
OMAHA, Neb., June 20, (AP): The stars shined brightly on the next-to-last night of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.
Caeleb Dressel added another event to his Tokyo program, powering to a dominating victory in the 100-meter butterfly.
Katie Ledecky blew away the field in the 800 freestyle, winning by more than 5 seconds in a race where the runner-up spot provided the only drama.
Ledecky locked up her fourth individual race at the Olympics with a time of 8 minutes, 14.62 seconds, adding to her victories in the 200, 400 and 1,500 free.
SWIMMING
Leading right from the start, Ledecky was essentially racing herself. She started out under world-record pace but tailed off when it was clear no one could challenge her.
Ledecky finished more than 10 seconds off her world-record performance at the Rio Olympics.
Fifteen-year-old Katie Grimes outraced veteran Haley Anderson for the expected second spot at the Olympics, knocking more than 11 seconds off her personal best to touch second in 8:20.36.
Anderson, who already made the team in marathon swimming, just
EUGENE, Ore., June 20, (AP): Whether watching from Jamaica, Japan or the U.S, it was hard to miss that shock of flowing, orange hair that came streaking across the finish line first in Eugene.
It belongs to Sha’Carri Richardson. And after the eye-opening show she put on at Olympic trials - blowing away the field in the 100-meter semis in a wind-aided 10.64 seconds, then
missed out on a race at the Olympic pool. She finished third, 15-hundredths of a second behind the youngster. again in the final in 10.86 - she figures to grab her fair share of attention next month in Tokyo.
ATHLETICS
With her performance, the 21-yearold out of LSU picked up a spot in the Olympics and a national title while
As with Ledecky, no one was even close to Dressel as he finished the fly in 49.87 - just off his world record of also setting up a possible showdown with the Jamaican world champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
An over-the-limit tailwind prevented the 10.64 from becoming official and leaving Richardson only 0.01 behind Fraser-Pryce’s top time of 2021.
But the season is far from over. The world record of 10.49 was set by Florence Griffith Joyner in 1988.
49.50 set two years ago at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
No complaints, though.
Tom Shields claimed the second spot on the U.S. team by touching next in 51.19. Shields was an Olympian in 2016, taking gold as part of the 4x100 medley relay.
Dressel, who already made the Olympic team with a victory in the 100 freestyle, made it 2-for-2 on the night when he returned a short time later to win his heat in the semifinals of the 50 free.
Dressel is hoping to swim three individuals events in Tokyo and perhaps all four relays, giving him a chance to join Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi as the only swimmers to win seven swimming medals at the Olympics.