OMAHA — An event-by-event look at Monday night’s Olympic Swimming Trials semifinals and finals session (8 p.m. ET, NBC and NBC Sports app):
Women’s 100m Butterfly Final
Olympic champion Dana Vollmer, coming back from March 2015 childbirth, and Kelsi Worrell are massive favorites to secure the two Olympic berths. They were nearly one second faster than the rest of the qualifiers from Sunday’s semifinals.
Men’s 200m Freestyle Semifinals
Ryan Lochte, groin injury and all, actually swam faster in his preliminary heat Monday morning than he did in the same race four years ago. He safely qualified fifth into the 16-swimmer semifinals but said he was still in pain. The top eight between two semifinals Monday night will make Tuesday’s final. Conor Dwyer, the 2013 World silver medalist who made the Olympic 400m free team Sunday, was the fastest Monday morning.
Women’s 100m Breaststroke Semifinals
Lilly King, the top-ranked American this year, qualified fastest into the semis, .12 ahead of Katie Meili, who was the fastest American last year. Former world-record holder Jessica Hardy made it with the fourth fastest time in prelims.
Men’s 100m Breaststroke Final
Kevin Cordes broke a seven-year-old American record in Sunday’s semifinals, and Cody Miller was only .15 behind Cordes. They are clear favorites to make their first Olympic team. Michael Andrew, a 17-year-old who turned pro at 14, is a dark horse as the fourth seed going into the final.
SWIM TRIALS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
Women’s 400m Freestyle Final
The question is who will finish second to Katie Ledecky, who had the fastest qualifying time Monday morning by a half-second. It could be Olympic silver medalist Allison Schmitt, or it could be Leah Smith, who entered Trials as the second-fastest woman in the world this year behind Ledecky. Smith was 3.52 seconds faster than Schmitt in their preliminary heat.
Men’s 100m Backstroke Semifinals
David Plummer, Ryan Murphy and Matt Grevers have been the three fastest Americans, in some order, in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. They qualified first, fourth and fifth into the semifinals as they head toward a final showdown Tuesday night.
Women’s 100m Backstroke Semifinals
London Olympic champion Missy Franklin qualified fifth fastest into the 16-swimmer semifinals. Athens and Beijing Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin was seventh fastest. Rachel Bootsma, who finished between Franklin and Coughlin at 2012 Trials and was 11th in London, placed 18th overall in the prelims and will miss the semifinals unless two swimmers scratch.
MORE: Lochte must draw on painful past to make Olympic team
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