U.S. Nationals: 800 Freestyle Relay Spots Up For Grabs Wednesday Night (Finals Heat Sheet)
The Wednesday evening finals session at U.S. Nationals will include the women’s and men’s 200 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke and 50 butterfly. The five-day meet is being held at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
Click here to view the full heat sheet.
In the women’s 200 free final, Katie Ledecky holds the top seed, but she will have to deal with Claire Weinstein and Erin Gemmell on either side of her in the final. Olympic-gold-medal winners Simone Manuel and Torri Huske also made the field. In the men’s race, Luke Hobson is the favorite, but anyone could secure spots on the 800 free relay after a time of 1:46.20 was required to reach the top-eight.
Kate Douglass is the clear favorite in the women’s 200 breast, with teammate Alex Walsh in lane five and three other Virginia Cavaliers in the middle of the pool. The men’s event was led by AJ Pouch in the morning while Gabe Nunziata claimed second, with Olympic finalist Josh Matheny looming in lane six.
Charlotte Crush and Leah Shackley have the middle lanes in the women’s 200 back final after standout morning performances, but there are four Olympians in the field: Regan Smith, Phoebe Bacon, Claire Curzan and Rhyan White. The men’s field sees Jack Aikins as the clear favorite after he dominated prelims, with Daniel Diehl in lane five and Olympic finalist Keaton Jones lurking from lane two.
Finally, Gretchen Walsh and Dare Rose are the top-seeded swimmers in their respective 50 fly races. Walsh could break her own American record in the evening session after finishing five hundredths short in prelims.
