Katie Ledecky makes her fourth Olympic team following her qualifying trials in Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS — Swimming superstar Katie Ledecky punched her ticket to Paris on Saturday, marking her fourth time on the U.S. Olympic team.

Written by Jesse Kirsch and Will Ujek
16/06/2024

Then, in Indianapolis, Ledecky, a seven-time gold medallist has took home in the 2024 U.S. Olympic swim trials final of the women’s 400m freestyle race, getting a place in Team USA. Paige Madden finished second but was not able to make it to Paris in the race.

“I walked out of this tunnel tonight and just took a look around and just enjoyed the moment,” Ledecky told the crowd, who completed in 3:58.35. “We’ve come a long way and it’s really great that you all came out to support us. It’s been an amazing first night.”

In the men’s freestyle 400m final teenager Aaron Shackell was victorious is and is also a in Paris.

This will be one of the very debut Olympics for Shackell who is the son of the 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 for a period of time, it wasn’t his best in the sport and was not a fan. “It’s unbelievable to be honest.”

and Gretchen Walsh, a University of Virginia senior set a new record in her semifinal heat on Saturday. she took the 100m butterfly at 55.18 -the first time she has set a world record for trials in the sport in the last decade since Michael Phelps did so in 2008.

Walsh’s performance was greeted with cheers and applause from the crowd. large crowd.

This was the first time that USA Swimming staged the event in the NFL stadium. The Indianapolis Colts red zone inside Lucas Oil Stadium was transformed into the pool for competition during the trials. The stadium is huge enough to allow an audience of 30,000 to watch at the same time according to the organizers as the best athletes in the world take part in an event that is more nerve-wracking that those at the Olympics themselves.

“This is way more intense than the Olympic games because it’s so hard to make the Olympics, and you throw in this monstrosity and it’s going to put the pressure on them in a big way,” said three-time gold medalist and NBC Sports analyst Rowdy Gaines.

Opening night, featuring the coverage at primetime on NBC attracted the attendance of around 20,000people, which is the biggest crowd for a single evening of swimming, according to the commentators.

The preparation for the nine-day competition was a lengthy process, according to USA Swimming Chief Commercial Officer Shana Ferguson, who said 1.8 million Gallons of water was put into the stadium, and constantly circulated to keep the warmup and competition pools full.

With just a few days to start, hundreds of athletes from the elite will be trying to get a chance for the U.S. Some are eyeing the possibility of their very first Olympics.

“There’s no way to be an Olympian or an ex Olympian. If you create the team, it will last for the rest of your life,” Gaines said. “And they cannot be removed to you.”