Caeleb Dressel, Chris Guiliano as relay
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INDIANAPOLIS – Some of the fastest men in the U.S. Olympic qualifying pool put on a fast-paced show, but Chris Guiliano came out on top, winning the 100-meter freestyle final with a blistering time of 47.38.
Olympic newcomer Guiliano outpaced Jack Alexy and American record holder Caeleb Dressel, who finished second and third, respectively. But what shows how close this race for the 2024 Paris Olympics was was that they finished within 0.15 seconds of each other. And Guiliano and Alexy both cleared the 50-meter mark in 22.51 seconds.
“We rehearsed the second half before this contest,” Guiliano told NBC Sports. “We just had to find a way and kick it into an extra gear.”
This sprint was no disappointment, having already followed the fireworks display in the women’s 100 m to open the evening at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Guiliano and Alexy – who will also make his Olympic debut – are expected to compete in the 100m freestyle individual at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while Dressel and fourth-place finisher Hunter Armstrong are expected to be part of the 4x100m freestyle relay.
“I don’t think we should be afraid (of the relay world record),” Dressel – a seven-time Olympic champion heading to his third Games – told NBC Sports. “I think the world record is 47.3 seconds on average. We have a shot at it. That’s incredibly fast.”
“I think we want the world record, but most importantly we need more cowbells,” Armstrong added to laughter from the crowd.
The expectedly fast race was followed by Tuesday’s semifinal, in which all eight swimmers qualified for the final with a gap of 0.86 seconds, so that almost anyone could win.
And Guiliano, Alexy, Dressel and Armstrong will compete again later in the 50m freestyle heats. Guiliano had already qualified for Paris in the 200m freestyle, while Armstrong earned his place in the 100m backstroke. Dressel also has a chance to qualify in the individual 100m butterfly.
“It’s so incredible,” Alexy told NBC Sports. “This experience is really surreal. It’s also quite a relief and I’m just happy to be going to Paris with these guys.”
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