U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials men’s event-by-event preview

By Nick ZaccardiJun 23, 2016, 12:23 PM EDT

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The top two finishers in all 26 events at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials will clinch Rio berths, which means Olympic and/or World champions will be left out of the exclusive team.

Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin and Katie Ledecky headline the meet in Omaha, Neb., beginning Sunday.

While they are favorites to make the Olympic team, they will be joined by many more Olympic medal threats.

For relays, the top six finishers in the 100m and 200m freestyles are in line to to make the Olympic team, too.

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Here’s a glimpse at all 13 men’s events at the Olympic Trials:

50m Freestyle
2012 Olympians: Cullen Jones (silver), Anthony Ervin (fifth)
2015 Worlds: Nathan Adrian (silver), Anthony Ervin (ninth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Nathan Adrian (21.37)
2. Caeleb Dressel (21.53)
3. Anthony Ervin (21.55)
4. Josh Schneider (21.80)
5. Cullen Jones (21.83)

Outlook: Adrian, the Olympic 100m free champion, is about as big of a favorite as one can be in a 22-second race. His best time this year is three tenths faster than the No. 2 U.S. man (Ervin). Ervin, the 2000 co-Olympic champion in this event, is bidding at 35 years old to become the oldest U.S. man to swim an individual event at the Olympics since 1904, according to sports-reference.com.

100m Freestyle
2012 Olympians: Nathan Adrian (gold), Cullen Jones (14th)
2015 Worlds: Nathan Adrian (seventh), Jimmy Feigen (20th)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Nathan Adrian (48.00)
2. Michael Phelps (48.45)
3. Anthony Ervin (48.71)
4. Caeleb Dressel (48.74)
5. Josh Schneider (48.76)
6. Maxime Rooney (48.87)
7. Michael Chadwick (48.87)
8. Ryan Lochte (48.90)

Outlook: Adrian is again a heavy favorite. Dressel may be his biggest challenger, because of Ervin and Schneider’s advanced ages and Phelps and Lochte probably not eyeing the final. The top six are in line to make the 4x100m free relay pool (plus anyone else on the Olympic team is technically eligible). Phelps and Lochte may want to merely post a time fast enough (even in prelims, then dropping out of the event) to be considered for the relay.

200m Freestyle
2012 Olympians: Ryan Lochte (fourth), Ricky Berens (ninth)
2015 Worlds: Ryan Lochte (fourth), Conor Dwyer (ninth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Ryan Lochte (1:45.36)
2. Conor Dwyer (1:45.41)
3. Maxime Rooney (1:47.10)
4. Zane Grothe (1:47.11)
5. Reed Malone (1:47.15)
6. Blake Pieroni (1:47.30)
7. Townley Haas (1:47.55)
8. Jack Conger (1:47.62)

Outlook: Phelps is also entered in this event, seeded 14th, but like the 100m freestyle, he probably only has relay designs. Lochte and Dwyer are the clear favorites to make the individual 200m free for Rio. The six-man 4x200m free relay pool, though, will definitely include multiple Olympic rookies.

400m Freestyle
2012 Olympians: Peter Vanderkaay (bronze), Conor Dwyer (fifth)
2015 Worlds: Connor Jaeger (fourth), Michael McBroom (eighth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Connor Jaeger (3:44.81)
2. Zane Grothe (3:45.98)
3. Conor Dwyer (3:46.09)
4. Michael McBroom (3:46.69)
5. Clark Smith (3:47.10)

Outlook: With Vanderkaay retired, Jaeger has stepped into the leading role in this event along with his favored 1500m freestyle. McBroom, too, is more well-known for longer distances. While Jaeger and Grothe’s seed times are from 2015, it’s Dwyer who has been the fastest in the U.S. this year by more than two seconds.

1500m Freestyle
2012 Olympians: Connor Jaeger (sixth), Andrew Gemmell (ninth)
2015 Worlds: Connor Jaeger (silver), Michael McBroom (sixth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Connor Jaeger (14:41.20)
2. Jordan Wilimovsky (14:53.12)
3. Michael McBroom (14:56.17)
4. Sean Ryan (15:03.82)
5. Clark Smith (15:05.97)

Outlook: Jaeger is a heavy favorite here. Wilimovsky and Ryan already made the Olympic team in the open-water 10km event, which takes place three days after the Olympic 1500m final. There will be added pressure on McBroom if he fails to make the Olympic team earlier at Trials in the 400m free.

100m Backstroke
2012 Olympians: Matt Grevers (gold), Nick Thoman (silver)
2015 Worlds: Matt Grevers (bronze), David Plummer (ninth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. David Plummer (52.51)
2. Matt Grevers (52.54)
3. Ryan Murphy (52.57)
4. Jacob Pebley (53.57)
5. Eugene Godsoe (53.96)

Outlook: Plummer hopes to make his first Olympic team at age 30. He’s in what appears to be a three-man race for two spots with the Olympic champion Grevers and Murphy, a rising University of California senior. Thoman is not entered in Trials.

200m Backstroke
2012 Olympians: Tyler Clary (gold), Ryan Lochte (bronze)
2015 Worlds: Ryan Murphy (fifth), Tyler Clary (seventh)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Tyler Clary (1:54.73)
2. Ryan Murphy (1:54.94)
3. Jacob Pebley (1:56.29)
4. Ryan Lochte (1:56.47)
5. Sean Lehane (1:57.11)

Outlook: Clary and Lochte’s seed times are from 2014. Murphy, whose seed time is from this year, is 1.44 seconds faster than the second-best American this year. He is the favorite, even though Clary and Lochte won the last two Olympic titles in this event.

100m Breaststroke
2012 Olympians: Brendan Hansen (bronze), Eric Shanteau (11th)
2015 Worlds: Cody Miller (ninth), Nic Fink (12th)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Cody Miller (59.51)
2. Nic Fink (59.52)
3. Andrew Wilson (59.65)
4. Kevin Cordes (59.70)
5. Sam Tierney (1:00.15)

Outlook: No American has separated himself as a medal contender in this Olympic cycle, since Hansen’s second retirement. Don’t forget Michael Andrew, who turned professional at age 14 in 2013 and set a personal best of 1:00.37 on Saturday.

200m Breaststroke
2012 Olympians: Scott Weltz (fifth), Clark Burckle (sixth)
2015 Worlds: Kevin Cordes (silver), Nic Fink (10th)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Kevin Cordes (2:07.86)
2. Josh Prenot (2:08.58)
3. Nic Fink (2:08.89)
4. Cody Miller (2:09.08)
5. Andrew Wilson (2:09.84)

Outlook: Cordes, a 22-year-old who trains in Singapore, finally realized his potential on an international stage by taking world championships silver last year. Prenot was beaten in this event at the NCAA Championships in March but appears to be better in the 50-meter Olympic-sized pool than the 25-yard college pools.

100m Butterfly
2012 Olympians: Michael Phelps (gold), Tyler McGill (seventh)
2015 Worlds: Tom Shields (fourth), Tim Phillips (13th)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Michael Phelps (50.45)
2. Tom Shields (51.03)
3. Jack Conger (51.33)
4. Tim Phillips (51.49)
5. Ryan Lochte (51.55)

Outlook: The three-time reigning Olympic champion Phelps was actually beaten by Shields in this event at the 2014 U.S. Championships by .01 of a second. But Phelps’ 50.45 at the 2015 U.S. Championships marked the fastest time in the world since 2009. If he’s in form, everyone else is fighting for second place.

200m Butterfly
2012 Olympics: Michael Phelps (silver), Tyler Clary (fifth)
2015 Worlds: Tom Shields (eighth), Tyler Clary (12th)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Michael Phelps (1:52.94)
2. Jack Conger (1:54.54)
3. Tom Shields (1:55.09)
4. Tyler Clary (1:55.42)
5. Andrew Seliskar (1:55.92)

Outlook: Phelps’ seed time in this event from the 2015 U.S. Championships also was the fastest in the world since 2009, though longtime Hungarian rival Laszlo Cseh bettered it earlier this year. Phelps is ranked sixth in the U.S. in the event this year, so he looks more vulnerable than in the 100m butterfly. But nobody in the U.S. has broken 1:56 this year to scare him.

200m Individual Medley
2012 Olympics: Michael Phelps (gold), Ryan Lochte (bronze)
2015 Worlds: Ryan Lochte (gold), Conor Dwyer (fifth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Michael Phelps (1:54.75)
2. Ryan Lochte (1:55.81)
3. Conor Dwyer (1:57.41)
4. Josh Prenot (1:58.38)
5. Will Licon (1:58.43)

Outlook: The times say Phelps and Lochte are in a class of their own in this event — and they have been, winning every Olympic and World title the last 12 years — but at some point the younger generation will pass them. Dwyer, at 27, is closer to Phelps and Lochte’s ages but has looked strong this year. Licon and Prenot went one-two at the NCAA Championships. The 2015 NCAA champion David Nolan and Phelps training partner Chase Kalisz could factor in, too.

400m Individual Medley
2012 Olympics: Ryan Lochte (gold), Michael Phelps (fourth)
2015 Worlds: Chase Kalisz (bronze), Tyler Clary (fourth)
Top seeds from entry lists
1. Tyler Clary (4:09.03)
2. Chase Kalisz (4:09.62)
3. Jay Litherland (4:12.43)
4. Ryan Lochte (4:12.66)
5. Josh Prenot (4:13.15)

Outlook: After taking Olympic gold, Lochte swam this grueling event once combined in all of 2013 and 2014. He raced it more often since the start of 2015 and ranks second in the U.S. this year behind Kalisz, who owns two straight world championships 400m IM medals. Clary is the top seed but hasn’t broken 2:11 since 2014.

MORE: Olympic Swimming Trials broadcast schedule

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Football takes significant step in Olympic push

By OlympicTalkMar 29, 2023, 2:18 PM EDT

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Football took another step toward possible Olympic inclusion with the IOC executive board proposing that the sport’s international federation — the IFAF — be granted full IOC recognition at a meeting in October.

IOC recognition does not equate to eventual Olympic inclusion, but it is a necessary early marker if a sport is to join the Olympics down the line. The IOC gave the IFAF provisional recognition in 2013.

Specific measures are required for IOC recognition, including having an anti-doping policy compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency and having 50 affiliated national federations from at least three continents. The IFAF has 74 national federations over five continents with almost 4.8 million registered athletes, according to the IOC.

The NFL has helped lead the push for flag football to be added for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Flag football had medal events for men and women at last year’s World Games, a multi-sport competition including Olympic and non-Olympic sports, in Birmingham, Alabama.

Football is one of nine sports that have been reported to be in the running to be proposed by LA 2028 to the IOC to be added for the 2028 Games only. LA 2028 has not announced which, if any sports, it plans to propose.

Under rules instituted before the Tokyo Games, Olympic hosts have successfully proposed to the IOC adding sports solely for their edition of the Games.

For Tokyo, baseball-softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing were added. For Paris, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing were approved again, and breaking will make its Olympic debut. Those sports were added four years out from the Games.

For 2028, the other sports reportedly in the running for proposal are baseball and softball, breaking, cricket, karate, kickboxing, lacrosse, motorsports and squash.

All of the other eight sports reportedly in the running for 2028 proposal already have a federation with full IOC recognition (if one counts the international motorcycle racing federation for motorsports).

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Helen Maroulis stars in wrestling documentary, with help from Chris Pratt

By Nick ZaccardiMar 29, 2023, 10:05 AM EDT

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One of the remarkable recent Olympic comeback stories is the subject of a film that will be shown nationwide in theaters for one day only on Thursday.

“Helen | Believe” is a documentary about Helen Maroulis, the first U.S. Olympic women’s wrestling champion. It is produced by Religion of Sports, the venture founded by Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan and Tom Brady. Showing details are here.

After taking gold at the 2016 Rio Games, Maroulis briefly retired in 2019 during a two-year stretch in which she dealt with concussions and post-traumatic stress disorder. The film focuses on that period and her successful bid to return and qualify for the Tokyo Games, where she took bronze.

In a poignant moment in the film, Maroulis described her “rock bottom” — being hospitalized for suicidal ideations.

In an interview, Maroulis said she was first approached about the project in 2018, the same year she had her first life-changing concussion that January. A wrestling partner’s mother was connected to director Dylan Mulick.

Maroulis agreed to the film in part to help spread mental health awareness in sports. Later, she cried while watching the 2020 HBO film, “The Weight of Gold,” on the mental health challenges that other Olympians faced, because it resonated with her so much.

“When you’re going through something, it sometimes gives you an anchor of hope to know that someone’s been through it before, and they’ve overcome it,” she said.

Maroulis’ comeback story hit a crossroads at the Olympic trials in April 2021, where the winner of a best-of-three finals series in each weight class made Team USA.

Maroulis won the opening match against Jenna Burkert, but then lost the second match. Statistically, a wrestler who loses the second match in a best-of-three series usually loses the third. But Maroulis pinned Burkert just 22 seconds into the rubber match to clinch the Olympic spot.

Shen then revealed that she tore an MCL two weeks earlier.

“They told me I would have to be in a brace for six weeks,” she said then. “I said, ‘I don’t have that. I have two and a half.’”

Maroulis said she later asked the director what would have happened if she didn’t make the team for Tokyo. She was told the film still have been done.

“He had mentioned this isn’t about a sports story or sports comeback story,” Maroulis said. “This is about a human story. And we’re using wrestling as the vehicle to tell this story of overcoming and healing and rediscovering oneself.”

Maroulis said she was told that, during filming, the project was pitched to the production company of actor Chris Pratt, who wrestled in high school in Washington. Pratt signed on as a producer.

“Wrestling has made an impact on his life, and so he wants to support these kinds of stories,” said Maroulis, who appeared at last month’s Santa Barbara Film Festival with Pratt.

Pratt said he knew about Maroulis before learning about the film, which he said “needed a little help to get it over the finish line,” according to a public relations company promoting the film.

The film also highlights the rest of the six-woman U.S. Olympic wrestling team in Tokyo. Four of the six won a medal, including Tamyra Mensah-Stock‘s gold.

“I was excited to be part of, not just (Maroulis’) incredible story, but also helping to further advance wrestling and, in particular, female wrestling,” Pratt said, according to responses provided by the PR company from submitted questions. “To me, the most compelling part of Helen’s story is the example of what life looks like after a person wins a gold medal. The inevitable comedown, the trauma around her injuries, the PTSD, the drive to continue that is what makes her who she is.”

Maroulis, who now trains in Arizona, hopes to qualify for this year’s world championships and next year’s Olympics.

“I try to treat every Games as my last,” she said. “Now I’m leaning toward being done [after 2024], but never say never.”

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