US Olympic Swimming Trials 2016: Results, Qualifying Times for Thursday

The United States Olympic swimming trials rolled on Thursday night with three more finals determining which athletes will be representing Team USA in August at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. 

The main event was the men's 100-meter freestyle race that featured reigning Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian, who won a thrilling battle just ahead of Caeleb Dressel and Ryan Held.    

Here are the full results from Thursday's key final races at the swimming trials from Omaha, Nebraska:

Race	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Men's 200m Breaststroke	Josh Prenot (2:07.17)	Kevin Cordes (2:08.00)	Will Licon (2:08.14)	Andrew Wilson (2:09.35)
Women's 200m Butterfly	Cammile Adams (2:06.80)	Hali Flickinger (2:07.50)	Cassidy Bayer (2:08.68)	Ruby Martin (2:09.96)
Men's 100m Freestyle	Nathan Adrian (47.72)	Caeleb Dressel (48.23)	Ryan Held (48.26)	Anthony Ervin (48.54)

Josh Prenot and Kevin Cordes kicked things off by securing Olympic bids in the men's 200-meter breaststroke, though it was a tight race that nearly saw Will Licon sneak into that second spot at the finish. 

Per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today, Prenot's time of 2:07.17 is a new American record in the 200-meter breaststroke. The University of California star has been crushing this event all week, posting the third-fastest time by an American during the semifinals on Wednesday before Thursday's record-setting run. 

NBC Olympics provided video of the race's final heart-stopping moments:

Ironically, Cordes set the record Prenot broke Thursday the day before with a time of 2:07.81. These two have been battling it out for the top spot all week, and their showdown on Thursday was an indication of what's to come in Rio. 

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports did note the difficult ending that Licon had after being so good this week leading up to the finals:

This is a moment Licon has been building toward his entire life, yet by the narrowest of margins he will have to go back to training in the hopes of making it happen in 2020. 

Cammile Adams earned her second consecutive trip to the Olympics in the women's 200-meter butterfly thanks to a terrific effort on Thursday. The Texas A&M star began slowly off the block, finishing the first 50 meters in seventh place. 

Once Adams turned on the jets, however, there was no stopping her. She will be looking for redemption from four years ago in London when she finished fifth in the event. 

Joining Adams in Rio will be first-time Olympian Hali Flickinger. The 21-year-old was on Adams' heels all the way to the end, good enough to secure a second-place finish and earn her spot in the 200-meter butterfly race in August. 

Per Swim Swam news, Flickinger's time was among the best by any swimmer in the world so far this year:

It's going to be an intense battle between Adams and Flickinger in five weeks, but for now the two can take pride in knowing they will represent their country on the grandest stage in sports. 

The men's 100-meter freestyle is often the most popular and exciting race during the Olympics, and it lived up to that reputation on Thursday. Adrian continued his dominance in the event, but Dressel and Held proved to be the main event with just .03 seconds separating the two. 

This is how things went down in the pool during the race, via NBC Olympics:

Fortunately for Held and Anthony Ervin, they still have tickets punched for Rio as members of the 4x100-meter relay team. 

Former Olympic gold medalist Summer Sanders had high praise for the job Adrian did to secure his spot in the 100-meter freestyle race and defend his crown:

Adrian described his emotions after the race on NBC's telecast, via NBC Olympics:

With just three more days of trials remaining, the intensity is as high it is going to get. Friday will feature four finals. The competitors have a tough act to follow after Thursday's events, but the ultimate goal is just finding a way into Rio. 

Prenot, Cordes, Adams, Flickinger and Adrian know what the dream feels like. Now the real preparation begins to find gold in August.