By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
Madeline Folsom Contributed to this report.
USA Swimming has set the date for its first-ever short course meters selection meet for the Short Course World Championships meet. The team will be chosen from October 28-31 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.
New USA Swimming CEO Kevin Ring first shared this information on a special episode of the SwimSwam Podcast.
“We recognize the importance of what that is, and that is one of those ‘things are changing, we need to make sure we change with them’.”
October 28-31 is after the start of the NCAA season, though to some degree that overlap was unavoidable because of the increasingly-crowded nature of the global swimming schedule. The team will be chosen just four weeks before the meet, which will be held in Beijing, China from December 1-6, 2026.
In 2024, the athletes were selected based on their long course meters swims that were achieved from July 2023 through August 2024, and athletes were required to be members of the current USA Swimming National Team.
This selection process has been subject to criticism in the past, and has left major athletes at home. In 2021, Coleman Stewart was the SCM World Record holder in the men’s 100 backstroke, but he was left off the roster in favor of Hunter Armstrong and Shaine Casas, who both had faster long course meter times during the qualifying period.
Beata Nelson was another swimmer left off short course rosters in favor of long course athletes. She was one of the best female backstrokers in SCM, and the American Record holder in the 100 IM, but she was left off both the 2021 and 2022 Short Course Worlds rosters for the United States, despite the fact that there was an open roster spot in the women’s 200 IM and no athlete listed to race the 100 IM.
Creating a new meet will open the door to more short-course-oriented athletes, which is the primary way swimming is trained and raced in the United States, giving them an opportunity to make a major international team. It will also ensure the fastest swimmers in each event are invited.
This meet will not only add a racing opportunity on U.S. soil for the top athletes, which we typically only see once a year at long course Nationals/Trials, but it is in line with the way other swimming federations schedule their season and make their SC World Team selections.
Athletes who make the team also earn the opportunity for prize money. In 2024, the top eight swimmers in each event received prizes, starting with $10,000 for event wins and going down to $2,000 for 8th place. Gretchen Walsh earned the most money in Budapest with $290,000 once all of her World Record bonuses were factored in as well.
The 2024 SC Worlds in Budapest was one of the fastest meets in recent memory with 30 World Records falling over the six days of the meet.
In spite of choosing their team from long course meets, the Americans still dominated the meet, winning 18 gold medals (three times as many as the neutral athletes from Russia, next most) and 39 total medals (more than double Canada’s 15, the next most).
Read the full story on SwimSwam: USA Swimming Sets Dates, Location for New Short Course Worlds Selection Meet
Hence then, the article about usa swimming sets dates location for new short course worlds selection meet was published today ( ) and is available on swimswam ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( USA Swimming Sets Dates, Location for New Short Course Worlds Selection Meet )
Also on site :