By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam
2025 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tuesday, June 3 – Saturday, June 7, 2025 Indianapolis, Indiana Indiana University Natatorium LCM (50 meters) World Championship Selection Criteria SwimSwam Preview Index Meet Central Psych Sheets (Updated 6/02) Live Results How To Watch (USA Swimming Network) Prelims Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 Finals Live Recap: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4Day 5 Finals Heat Sheet
We’ve reached the final session of the 2025 U.S. National Championships, with qualification drama on the cards for the men and some unexpected additions to the schedule.
A Swim-Off Bonanza
“Once, twice, three times a lady” is how the 1978 Commodores song goes, and it seems to have been the inspiration for tonight’s finals session. We have a trio of swim-offs to begin the session, two of 200 freestyle and then a 50 breast splash and dash with World University Games and World Championship team spots on the line.
The first two are from all the way back on Day 2. Baylor Nelson and Jake Mitchell tied for fifth in the ‘B’ final on Wednesday night, which ended up being the second spot in the individual event at the World University Games. Mitchell has just finished up his collegiate career at Florida whilst Baylor Nelson recently transferred from Texas A&M to Texas, and the two were both teammates on the 2023 World Championship team where they qualified for the 4×200 free relay.
The two split very similar races on Wednesday, but Mitchell leads the way in best times 1:45.82 to 1:46.51 and got his hand on the wall first to win the ‘B’ final of the 400 free on Day 4 – he may well be the favourite.
For Anna Peplowski and Erin Gemmell this is likely a fight for the second individual spot in the 200, as Katie Ledecky and Torri Huske are likely (although not certain) to decline the swim. They both swam a best time on Wednesday, although it is Gemmell who has more experience of life in the low-1:56s having swum 1:56.28 or better on five occasions. Peplowski sliced over a second off on Day 2 and has only broken 1:57 three times, but is the NCAA champion and will be eager for a first-ever individual Worlds swim.
The 50 breaststroke math for Emma Weber and McKenzie Siroky is simple. Win and you are on the team, lose and you are not. Neither woman finished in the top two of the 100 yesterday, so this is their final opportunity. They both set best times on Thursday – Siroky in the heats in 30.27, Weber in the final in 30.43. The pair rank #8 and #12 among US women all-time, so expect this to be fast and furious.
Death, Taxes, And Katie Ledecky
Ledecky has been on an absolute tear so far in 2025, swimming the second-fastest 800 and 1500 freestyles ever at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim series and then swimming the third-fastest 800 ever on Day 1 here in Indianapolis.
She’s experiencing a career renaissance in her 13th year competing at the senior international level, and despite not needing to be anywhere near her best to make the team in the 1500 there’s been every indication so far this week that she will go for it. Swims of 3:58 in the 400 and 8:05 in the 800 are phenomenal even for her, and under 15:30 is very much on the cards here.
Jillian Cox is probably the favourite behind her, and will be glad for no Claire Weinstein in the field after she ran Cox down from six seconds back in the 800. She was right on her PB of 8:19 there, and after setting a best of 16:04 just a month ago in Fort Lauderdale where she was 8:23 in the 800 will have eyes on the 16:00 barrier.
Walsh Unshackled In The 200 IM
With Kate Douglass scratching the heats, Alex Walsh is the heavy favourite to win tonight. She’s already on the team by virtue of her 2nd-place finish in the 200 breaststroke, so can race absolutely free from pressure tonight. She was 2:10.92 this morning, the only woman under 2:11, but holds a best nearly four seconds faster at 2:07.13 which is well clear of the rest of the field. The question tonight won’t be whether she will win, but if she can challenge the 2:07 barrier and Douglass’ own best of 2:06.79.
It is an open field behind her. Leah Hayes has the fastest personal best by a distance with a 2:08.91, but has not broken 2:10 since setting that in 2022. Caroline Bricker (2:11.63) and Phoebe Bacon (2:11.68) were under their previous bests, and are joined under 2:12 by 16-year-old Audrey Derivaux in 2:11.90.
The final is a young one: no swimmer is born earlier than 2001, and half were born 2005 or later. That continues down the finals, with no one born before the turn of the century swimming this event tonight.
Dogfight Behind The Top Two In The Men’s 200 IM
Shaine Casas and Carson Foster rank 7th and 14th all-time in the 200 IM, and should be in a race of their own tonight. With both already either qualified or almost certainly qualified for the team the handbrake will be off, and a repeat of the final last year where they both broke 1:56 would not be a shock. Casas will be in heat 4 after a swim of 1:57.70 this morning, with Foster one of five 1:58s.
The other four swimmers under the 1:59 barrier are clustered within three-tenths of each other, and the race between them figures to be gripping. Kieran Smith is the third seed tonight, and is the only one to have put himself in with a chance of qualifying for worlds in the events we’ve had so far. However, his sixth-place finish in the 200 freestyle leaves him in the precarious position of all six top-two spots tonight to be claimed either by a swimmer already qualified or himself.
This is the one part of that process tonight that is in his own hands. He has the fastest best time of the field other than the top two and is the 10th-fastest American all-time, but will need to drop time to be in the fight ahead of him. It’s far more likely we’ll see Smith, Grant House, Owen McDonald and Trenton Julian locked in an absorbing battle of their own.
Maurer or Mijatovic To Shine Brightest In The Men’s 800?
Bobby Finke has done the distance free double in each of the last four years, and is the runaway favourite to win the men’s 800 free to make that five. He was around eight seconds slower in the 1500 than last year, but swam a phenomenal 400 IM on Day 3 to rank tenth all-time, so is clearly in good form in Indianapolis.
In last year’s 800 final, Finke was closely tracked by junior Luke Whitlock who ended up finishing less than a second behind to qualify for Paris. Whitlock is not in the field this year as he is dealing with a lingering shoulder injury, but there could still be a junior swimmer in close attendance to Finke. Luka Mijatovic, who has dropped two seconds in the 200 and three in the 400 so far this week, will be in lane 1 of tonight’s fastest heat. With a paucity of doubles on the men’s side he is not yet a guarantee despite finishing second in the 200, and making the top two here would go a long way towards getting him to Singapore.
The man most likely to stand in his way is the one that beat him in that 400. Rex Maurer has had a sparkling season since transferring to Texas, setting the American record in the 500 yard freestyle and breaking the US Open Record in the 400 on Day 3, and his entry time of 7:51.19 should be hacked to pieces tonight. Luke Ellis, David Johnston and Alex Enyeart will ensure the rest of the field does not fall away, but based on form so far the two we’ve talked about here are the biggest threats for the second spot.
Four Into Two doesn’t Go In Women’s 50 Free
Four of the top-five American women all-time in the 50 freestyle will go head-to-head tonight, as Gretchen Walsh, Kate Douglass, Torri Huske and Simone Manuel battle for the two spots available. Last year it was Manuel and Walsh who took first and second, with Huske in fourth behind Abbey Weitzeil.
The swimmer of this quartet who was not in that final, Kate Douglass, has made a serious statement of intent by dropping the 200 IM for this; she’s traded in an almost certain World medal for an event where she may miss the team. She was second this morning in 24.38 behind only Walsh (24.30) and just ahead of Huske (24.42), but is the only one of those three to have broken 24 seconds, going 23.91 to set the American Record in Doha last year.
That record previously belonged to the fourth woman here, Simone Manuel. She placed fifth this morning (24.70), but had her best 100 free in six years on Day 1 to take third and has had a knack in the past for getting her hand to the wall when it matters. Julia Dennis, ahead of her in fourth after setting a new best of 24.57 this morning and cracking the US all-time top-15, will aim to play spoiler tonight to the big four tonight.
Second Time Lucky For Santo Condorelli?
Santo Condorelli just failed to meet the requirements to be eligible for the US team at the Olympics last year, although he wasn’t a lock to do so if he had been eligible. One year later and eligible under both the old and new, more lenient, rules and he’s in with a great chance in the 50 free. He qualified third for the final in 21.87, four-hundredths off his best of 21.83 from 2016, when he was still competing for Canada.
Jack Alexy looked a class apart in the heats this morning, and was 21.49 in a time trial on Wednesday. After dominating the 100 free on Day 1 it would be a shock to see anyone else on the top step of the podium, especially with Michael Andrew missing the ‘A’ final and the pair of Chris Guiliano and Matt King not looking at their best this week, qualifying fourth (21.93) and sixth (22.08) respectively.
If not Condorelli behind him, stepping into the gap could be a swimmer from the University possibly having the best meet so far — Arizona State. Jonny Kulow and Patrick Sammon will both be in this final after each having a great 100 freestyle earlier this week, with Sammon finishing second to qualify individually for Worlds. Both set best times this morning, Kulow in 21.75 to put himself in lane 5, and Sammon in 22.14 to drop a quarter-second from his time from last year.
Kulow looked fantastic in winning heat 5, and could be the main beneficiary of the established names not hitting their stride here. He is in a similar position to Kieran Smith – he needs five of the six top-two spots tonight to go to already qualified swimmers to make the 4×100 free relay team, or to grab one of those spots himself. This could be his opportunity to cement his place.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2025 U.S. Nationals: Day Five Finals Preview
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