U.S. Swimming Championships 2023: Torri Huske, Gretchen Walsh set top two times of the year in 100m butterfly
Katie Grimes wins 400m IM, pushed by a strong performance from Alex Walsh
Swimming
Reigning world 100m butterfly champion Torri Huske captured the U.S. title in the event Thursday evening (29 June) at the U.S. Swimming Championships in Indianapolis.
Huske was challenged by a strong swim from Gretchen Walsh. Huske's time was 56.18, while Walsh touched the wall in 56.34. Those represent the two fastest times in the world this season in the event.
"I'm really pumped, I'm so thankful. There's been a lot of fast swimming at this meet, so I'm just very fortuntate that I get another chance to race in Worlds," said Huske.
An Olympic silver medallist in the women's 400m IM, the 20-year-old had a specific focus coming into competition.
"I was thinking a lot about my underwaters before this and I was practising as I was warming up and I was just visualising," Huske explained. "I just feel like maintaining confidence is key."
Olympic champions Lilly King and Lydia Jacoby provided another stellar match up as the two did battle in the women's 50m breaststroke with King defeating Jacoby by just four thousands of a second (29.77 to 29.81).
"I'm very excited, that was probably best I've had all season - well, best time I've had all season for sure," said a jubilant King. "Just been working on getting that speed back again. The 50's easy, the 50's fun!"
In addition to being the U.S. nationals, the event also serves as Team USA’s World Championships trials. The World Aquatics Championships will be in held in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.
Katie Grimes fought off a strong challenge from Alex Walsh to win the 400m IM to open competition earlier in the night.
The reigning world silver medallist in the event, Grimes clocked a 4:33.80 ahead of Walsh's 4:35.46.
"Just trying to make it to the other side, just keep my head down. Just keep kicking, I guess," said Grimes of her mindset.
Grimes, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Games, had been searching for her first berth to the World Championships and admitted to appreciating a boost from her teammates ahead of the race.
"My teammates are everything for me. We really hype each other up," she explained. "I was kinda stressing about that one and I think they could pick up on that one, so they just gave me all the support that I needed."
Katharine Berkoff won the final event of the night, the women's 50m backstroke, with a time of 27.13. Regan Smith was just behind with a 27.14 for second.
2023 U.S. Swimming National Championships and World Team Trials – Indianapolis – Complete schedule
Competition at the 2023 USA Swimming National Championships, which serves as the World Championships trials for Team USA, features five days of competition with heats beginning at 10am local time and finals kicking off at 7pm local. Below is a schedule of events day-by-day. For an entry list, visit the USA Swimming event page.
Friday, 30 June
- 400m freestyle
- 100m breastroke
- 100m backstroke
Saturday, 1 July
- Women’s 1500m freestyle
- 200m IM
- Men’s 800m freestyle
- 50m freestyle
2023 U.S. Swimming National Championships and World Team Trials – Indianapolis – How to watch
NBC’s digital streaming platform Peacock will carry the action from Indianapolis live in the United States. NBC will air tape-delayed coverage of the event on 1 and 2 July. Visit USA Swimming’s event page for more information.
International viewers can view the semi-finals and finals here: www.usaswimming.org/watch.