By Nicole Miller on SwimSwam
2026 U.S. National Championships
July 28-August 1, 2026 Irvine, CA — William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center LCM (50 meters) Meet Central Psych Sheet Live Results Live Stream Recaps Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3|Day 4Day 5 Prelims Heat Sheet
Welcome to the final prelims session of the 2026 U.S. National Champonships. While Nationals must sadly come to an end, we will soon be looking towards Pan Pacs and more exciting racing to come there. However, there are still a few more events left on the docket for Nationals that should feature fantastic racing to close-out the meet. This morning’s lineup will only feature two events, the 200 IM and 50 Freestyle, with heats of the women’s 1500 Freestyle and men’s 800 Freestyle set to start at 5:30 PM EST.
Heading up the first event of the morning, the women’s 200 IM, will be Alex Walsh. The 2020 Olympic medalist and multi-time World Championships medalist in this event currently holds the fastest entry time in the field by over a second (2:08.45). Walsh has not competed in any individual events at this meet yet as she looks forward to Pan Pacs, but did swim the 400 IM in a time trial earlier in the week. Her Virginia teammate Leah Hayes sits as the 2nd seed in the race as the only other entrant under 2:10 with a 2:09.48. Audrey Derivaux comes in as the top 18 and under swimmer in the event as she will look to add the race to her schedule for Jr. Pan Pacs. Derivaux, who has already claimed several 18 and under titles this week, currently holds a best of 2:10.32.
The men’s 200 IM should be another exciting event featuring a slew of big names. Headlining the race is Olympian Kieran Smith, who holds the top seed in an entry time of 1:57.26. Owen McDonald and Grant House currently possess the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the event, with times of 1:57.98 and 1:58.07, respectively. There are certainly also darkhorses to watch in this event as well, most notably being Rowan Cox. While Cox hasn’t dropped in all of his events this weekend, he posted a standout performance in the 100 butterfly to finish 3rd in 50.64. Cox has reportedly been training at Texas since graduating high school this spring, which is known for having the best 200 IM’er in history, Leon Marchand. Cox will be swimming early in the heats as he’s entered with a SCY time of 1:45.21.
Virginia is coming to play in the women’s 50 freestyle as all 4 of the top entrants are current or former UVA swimmers, led by recently minted World Record holder Gretchen Walsh. While Walsh will likely be saving her best for Pan Pacs, she has already broken the World Record in this event this season, meaning she could certainly be on record watch again. Behind Walsh sits Kate Douglass, who also broke the 50 freestyle World Record this season, only 9 days prior to Walsh taking the record for herself. The two teammates sit well ahead of the field with their historically best times of 23.55 and 23.59, respectively. 100 freestyle American Record holder Anna Moesch sits 3rd in 24.20, with Maxine Parker holding the 4th seed in 24.41.
While the battle between Walsh and Douglass is sure to highlight the women’s 50 freestyle, the men’s 50 freestyle should prove to be a battle across the entire top 10 just to make it into the A-final as the field is loaded with top-end talent. Nikita Sheremet heads into the race with the top seed of 21.62, but there are 8 swimmers entered under the 22-second mark. That includes Caeleb Dressel, Brooks Curry, Hunter Armstrong, Michael Andrew, Quintin McCarty, Brendan Whitfield, and Jonny Kulow. Given the depth of this field, expect to see one, or more, of these big names miss out on the A-final as it should take a strong performance to get a shot at the National Title tonight.
Following the conclusion of the heats, there will be a separate distance session for the women’s 1500 freestyle and men’s 800 freestyle, with the top heats of swimmers competing for the National Title during the finals session.
Women’s 200 Individual Medley — Prelims
World Record: 2:05.70 — Summer McIntosh, Canada (2025) American Record: 2:06.15 — Ariana Kukors (2009) U.S. Open Record: 2:06.79 — Kate Douglass (2024)Top 8 Qualifiers:
Men’s 200 Individual Medley — Prelims
World Record: 1:54.00 — Léon Marchand, France (2024) American Record: 1:54.43 — Ryan Lochte (2011) U.S. Open Record: 1:54.54 — Michael Phelps (2008)Top 8 Qualifiers:
Women’s 50 Freestyle — Prelims
World Record: 23.55 — Gretchen Walsh, United States (2026) American Record: 23.55 — Gretchen Walsh (2026) U.S. Open Record: 23.59 — Kate Douglass (2026)Top 8 Qualifiers:
Men’s 50 Freestyle — Prelims
World Record: 20.88 — Cameron McEvoy, Australia (2026) American Record: 21.04 — Caeleb Dressel (2019) U.S. Open Record: 21.04 — Caeleb Dressel (2021)Top 8 Qualifiers:
Women’s 1500 Freestyle — Early Heats
World Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky, United States (2018) American Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky (2018) U.S. Open Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky (2018)Top 8 Qualifiers:
Men’s 800 Freestyle — Early Heats
World Record: 7:32.12 — Zhang Lin, China (2009) American Record: 7:38.67 — Bobby Finke (2023) U.S. Open Record: 7:40.34 — Bobby Finke (2023)Top 8 Qualifiers:
Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2026 U.S. National Championships: Day 5 Prelims Live Recap
Hence then, the article about 2026 u s national championships day 5 prelims live recap 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 ( 2026 U.S. National Championships: Day 5 Prelims Live Recap )
Also on site :
- Uefa declares loss of confidence in Gianni Infantino as backlash to cancelled World Cup sell-off plan builds
- Olympic champion Emma Finucane doubles up on Commonwealth Games titles
- DVQ fantasy football formula gets AI-driven upgrade