Katie Ledecky, a swimming sensation, booked her ticket to Paris on Saturday, marking her fourth appearance on the US Olympic squad.
Ledecky, a seven-time gold winner, won the women’s 400-meter freestyle final at the 2024 United States Olympic Swim Trials in Indianapolis, securing a berth for Team USA. Paige Madden finished second but did not qualify for the Paris event.
“I walked out of this tunnel tonight and just looked around and enjoyed the moment,” said Ledecky, who ran 3:58.35. “We’ve come a long way, and it’s fantastic that you all turned out to support us. It’s been an incredible first night!”
Aaron Shackell, 19, won the men’s 400-meter freestyle final and will also travel to Paris.
It will be Shackell’s first Olympics as the son of swimmer Nick Shackell, who represented Great Britain at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
“Ever since I learned my dad was an Olympian, I’ve always wanted to be an Olympian myself,” Aaron Shackell said, adding that he wasn’t particularly good at or enjoyed the sport for a long time. “It’s unbelievable, to be honest.”
Gretchen Walsh, a senior at the University of Virginia, raced the 100-meter butterfly in 55.18 seconds in her semifinal heat on Saturday, breaking the world record for the first time since Michael Phelps in 2008.
Walsh’s record was hailed with cheers and yells from the thousands in attendance.
For the first time, USA Swimming held the event in an NFL stadium. An Indianapolis Colts red zone inside Lucas Oil Stadium was converted into the trials’ competition pool. According to the organizers, the vast facility can accommodate up to 30,000 supporters at once as some of the world’s top athletes participate in an event that is probably more nerve-racking than the Olympics.
“This is way more intense than the Olympic games because it’s so hard to get into the Olympics, and if you throw in this monstrosity, it’s going to put a lot of pressure on them,” said three-time gold medalist and NBC Sports analyst Rowdy Gaines.
According to analysts, the first night, which was broadcast live on NBC, drew over 20,000 people in person, the largest crowd to watch a night of swimming.
According to USA Swimming Chief Commercial Officer Shana Ferguson, the nine-day event required weeks to put together, with 1.8 million gallons of water being pumped into the stadium and continually recirculating to keep the temporary competition and warmup pools filled.
With little more than a week to go, hundreds of elite athletes will continue to compete for the opportunity to represent the United States. Some are aiming for their first Olympics.
“There is no such thing as a previous or former Olympian. “Once you form a team, it lasts a lifetime,” Gaines added. “And that will never be able to be taken away from you.”
