DRESSEL WINS; MANUEL FAILS
Caeleb Dressel locked up his spot for Tokyo, where he’s expected to be one of the biggest stars in the Olympic pool.
Simone Manuel got left behind.
In the biggest surprise yet at the U.S. swimming trials, the defending Olympic women’s champion in the 100-meter freestyle failed to advance from the semifinals Thursday night at Omaha, Neb.
Manuel, who tied for the gold at the Rio Olympics to become the first Black female ever to win an individual swimming event, finished fourth in the first semifinal heat at 54.17 seconds.
She just missed a spot in tonight’s final when five swimmers went faster in the second semifinal heat, with Erika Brown taking the eighth spot in 54.15 — two-hundredths faster than Manuel.
There were no such concerns for Dressel, who romped to victory in the men’s 100 free in 47.39.
He finally got a chance to shine on Day 5 of the trials after a long week of waiting. When Dressel saw a “1” beside his name, he hopped on the lane rope, splashed the water and pumped his arms to whip up the crowd.
“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders,“Dressel said. “I’m excited to get the job done and move forward.”
In the wake of Michael Phelps’ retirement, Dressel has emerged as the next big thing in men’s swimming. After winning two golds medals at the 2016 Rio Games, he really shined at the last two world championships.
In 2017, Dressel captured seven gold medals in Budapest — joining Phelps and Mark Spitz as the only swimmers to win that many races at a major
international meet.
A giant picture of Dressel adorns the outside of the downtown Omaha arena where the trials are being held.
A fading star of the American team is still in the mix for Tokyo.
Thirty-six-year-old Ryan Lochte advanced to the final of the 200 individual medley, his only realistic chance to qualify for his fifth Olympics and redeem himself for the embarrassment of Rio, where he lied about being robbed at gunpoint during a boisterous night on the town.
But Lochte has his work cut out for him. Michael Andrew dominated the semifinals with a time of 1:55.26 — fastest in the world this year. Lochte was the sixth-fastest qualifier at 1:58.65, nearly 31⁄2 seconds behind
Andrew.
Banned runner in trials
Banned runner Shelby Houlihan is entered at U.S. Olympic track and field trials, setting up what could be a high-stakes showdown involving her, antidoping regulators and American sports officials who do not have the authority to let a suspended athlete compete.
Houlihan, the American record holder at 1,500 and 5,000 meters, is on the start list for today’s preliminaries at both distances. Though those lists were initially produced before word of her four-year doping ban went public earlier this week, USA Track and Field said it would take her off only once her appeals were exhausted.
“Given there is an active appeal process, USATF will allow any athletes to continue competing until the process is completed,” said Susan Hazzard, managing director of communications.
But the event, while run by USATF, is officially overseen by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. If the USOPC allows Houlihan to run while she is banned, it would be violating the world antidoping code. The federation was formulating its response late Thursday.
Notable
Romania has been banned from competing in weightlifting at the Tokyo Olympics over past doping cases, the International Weightlifting Federation ruled.