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2024 World Aquatics Championships
After a disastrous 2023 in which Team USA missed out on a medal at the World Championships for the first time since 2001, 2024 was a year of recovery for the Americans.
Including the shortened team, they won eight gold medals out of a total of 20, surpassing China (7/11) and Australia (3/16) in both the most gold medals and the most medals won.
This encounter didn’t mean everything to everyone. Australia’s momentum heading into Paris was certainly not hurt by the fact that the Dutch women won the 400m free relay (when the Australians had to use the breaststroke in the third race).
But for a swimmer who wanted to prove something, it meant a lot. And Team USA has a lot of swimmers with a lot to prove in 2024.
kate douglas proved that she is genuine He set an American record in the 50m free (23.91 seconds), won the 200IM with a personal best (2:07.05), and won a silver medal in the 200m chest (2:20.91), making him an international star on long distance courses. . We know that Douglas can swim fast anytime, anywhere, but the world still suspects she is a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.
A second consecutive world title in the 200IM seems to belie that sentiment, but the first half is increasingly true. She became the second American woman in history to win individual medals in three events at the World Championships (after the indomitable Tracy Caulkins in 1978).
She also continued to provide a stabilizing force to the American relays. Although the woman did not compete in most of the relays, she was very fast in the mixed events, so she should give the United States confidence heading into the Paris Olympics. They may not be Australia yet, but there is at least one reliable piece they can build around a player who has been in form for two games in a row.
Her partner at those events was Claire Curzanhas rebounded in a big way after missing out on the 2023 World Championships due to an emergency room visit. She dominated in the 50-100-200 backstroke, won silver in the 100-meter fly, and also won two relay medals.
While there has been a lot of talk about whether the 19-year-old has reached the peak of her career, as the tournament’s highest-paid swimmer, she is adamant that she has not yet reached her peak.She needs to choose wisely at the Olympic Trials in June because her schedule may have been too big, but she said her time is good. Her score of 58.29 in the 100 back would have kept her from finishing on the podium at last year’s world championships by 0.04 seconds. Had she run a 2:05.77 in the 200 back, she would have won bronze.
She continues to put minimal pressure on American backstrokers Kathryn Berkoff and Regan Smith, and American butterfly swimmers Torrey Husk and Gretchen Walsh.Adding her to the Olympic team is very important to the Americans – like Douglas, she gave them tons The meet requires flexibility in selecting top relay athletes, which is perhaps more important than ever for Team USA.
They anchored the mixed medley with a split of 56.54 (Fly: Curzan) and 52.34 (Free: Douglas), and that mixed medley is about the same as the one swam at last year’s World Championships, even without Ryan Murphy. It was the speed.
The leadoff leg of that relay is hunter armstrongThere, he split with a score of 53.07 and earned 100 points individually with a score of 52.68. This time was just one-tenth of the time she won the bronze medal at last year’s World Championships.
His continued progress was good news for the U.S. men’s team, which is in need of good news.
30 years old Nick FinkOn the other hand, it continues to maintain its late peak form. He appears to be Team USA’s most important linchpin at the moment, as Michael Andrew’s continued struggles don’t leave much depth in the American breaststroke event.
carson fosterHe faced a giant named Leon Marchand in Paris, but the results were mixed. There are two ways to remember his games. One was a disappointing loss to Canada’s Finlay Knox in the 200 IM, a race that Foster should have won, and he finished fourth in the 400 IM. or His relay times were 47.83 and 1:43.94 in the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle, respectively.
We know that Foster is faster than his 4:12 IM400. And the fact that he’s able to break 1:43.94 in the 200 free even though he’s nowhere near his personal best in IM races is amazing.
There were also some unexpected swims. Rachel Klinker In the semifinals of the 200 fly, she recorded a time of 2:07.70, adding another name to the increasingly crowded domestic field of this event. piper engine In her first major senior international competition, she reached the final in the 50m breaststroke.
It wasn’t a perfect match for the Americans. Michael Andrew won just one medal in four shots (50 silver fly medals), which was below expectations. Shayne Casas I didn’t exude confidence in what I could offer this summer. Her streak of winning the women’s 400-meter medley relay came to an end (she had won four in a row).
However, the results showed far more positive than negative opinions from Americans. It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been able to say the same about Team USA, which won a major international tournament, but that kind of trend is true for teams, especially teams that have just seen the performance of their country’s most reliable players. It can weigh heavily on the collective psyche. Katie Ledecky loses in the 800 free for the first time in 13 years.
Were these world championships important? After the event, the energy in the swimming world was less significant than at other world championships with more substantial disciplines, but the absence of some stars and superstars did not diminish its full importance. I think he meant that it was not denied.
And maybe that’s what Team USA needed. A medium pressure event to win medals, get the best time and boost your confidence heading into Paris. It is not a heritage “forged in the fire,” but one forged in smoldering coals, in the embers, waiting for the tinder to reignite the flame. That’s what this little team has given my teammates. It brings an end to the story of Team USA’s doom spiral, and it’s a reason to be positive and optimistic, and something to feel good about heading into the bigger festivities this summer.
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