2016 US Olympic Swimming: Meet the Men's Team
The quadrennial celebration of American swimming has come and gone at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska, leaving the U.S. with a certainly formidable—if not immediately recognizable—roster of men heading to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Americans managed six individual gold medals at the 2012 Games in London, three of which came from long-time program mainstays Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
Both those veterans will be back at it in Brazil, but any hopes of equaling or exceeding the London haul will require breakouts from other competitors whose names are not quite household in nature.
Here's a little bit of information on each of the men, known and unknown, who will be making waves in Brazil next month.
The Headliners
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Michael Phelps
Go ahead, we dare you. Just try and compile a list of U.S. men's swim headliners and have it not include the most-decorated Olympian of all time.
Can't. Be. Done.
But if you think the 18-time gold medalist is only making a ceremonial appearance in his fifth Summer Games, think again. He was the top U.S. qualifier in three individual events—the 100- and 200-meter butterfly, along with the 200-meter individual medley—and has turned in the world's second-best times for the 2015-16 season in two of those three races. So if his gold count is up to 20 by mid-August, don't be surprised.
Connor Jaeger
While the most casual of sports fans has heard of Phelps, only real swim fans are aware of the 25-year-old New Jersey native who will actually be making his second Olympic appearance.
Jaeger was just 21 when he jetted off to London for a sixth-place finish in the 1500-meter freestyle, but he'll have additional chances to make a splash in Rio, where he's qualified after winning both the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles at the U.S. trials in Omaha.
He's the third-fastest man in the world in the 400 race this year, which means a first career medal is certainly within reach.
Nathan Adrian
The fastest American in the pool isn't quite Usain Bolt, but the combination of imposing stature and compelling back story could make Adrian a star by the time Rio's closing ceremonies arrive.
The 6'6" Adrian was born to a nuclear engineer and a nurse in 1988 and made his Olympic debut 20 years later with a slot on a gold medal relay in the 400-meter freestyle. He returned to win solo gold in the 100-meter freestyle four years later, and heads to Brazil after trials wins in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles.
His 21.51 finish in the 50 in Omaha is fourth-best in the world this season, while the 47.72 in the 100 is second behind just Australia's Cameron McEvoy.
Medal Contenders
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Kevin Cordes
A 22-year-old who will turn 23 while the Olympics are in session, Cordes is an American who appears ready for prime time. He was a near miss to the London games after a third-place U.S. trials finish four years ago, but has significantly boosted his international profile since turning 20.
He was second in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2015 world championships and will get another Olympic crack in Brazil after a first and a second at the 2016 trials in the 100- and 200-meter breaststrokes. His 100 semifinal time established a U.S. record of 58.94 seconds, while his 200 semifinal time was also a domestic record at 2:07.81 before it was broken a day later by Josh Prenot.
Ryan Lochte
It's unfortunate for the University of Florida product that, even with 11 Olympic medals of his own, he's typically considered a second banana to Michael Phelps.
But Lochte is undeniably a big-time swimmer. And if he's healthy enough to compete in Rio at 100 percent, he's got a pretty good chance to prove that yet again.
He was second to Phelps at trials in the 200-meter individual medley in a time, 1:56.22, that's third-best in the world for the season. Based on that, it won't take much to envision him on a medals stand again.
Ryan Murphy
Another near miss to the 2012 Games as a teenager, Murphy turned 21 at this year's trials and will head to Rio after wins in both the 100- and 200-meter backstroke in Omaha.
His 100-meter backstroke split in a 400-meter individual medley relay preliminary at the 2015 World Championships was the world's best, and he ultimately picked up a gold medal as part of that team in those finals.
Australia's Mitch Larkin owns the world's best times in the 100 and 200 backstrokes this season, but Murphy's recent prowess indicates he'll be right there in the medal mix, too.
Josh Prenot
If nothing else, Prenot is heading into Rio with some momentum.
The Missouri native locked up in a high-speed duel with Kevin Cordes at the trials in Omaha, where Cordes established a 200-meter American record in the semifinals before Prenot broke it a day later to win the finals.
He was fourth after 100 meters, but surged through the closing half to finish in a blistering 2:07.17, which was the second-fastest time in history and the fastest this season by more than half a second.
He'll turn 23 a week before the Games begin in Brazil and could be in line for a terrific present.
Dark Horses
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Conor Dwyer
A grizzled veteran at age 27, Dwyer will have two chances at Rio—in the 200- and 400-meter freestyles—to add an individual medal to the gold he won in the 800-meter freestyle relay in London alongside guys named Phelps, Lochte and Ricky Berens.
He was fifth as a solo in the 400 freestyle at the 2012 Games and took a fifth and a ninth in the 200-meter individual medley and the 200-meter freestyle, respectively, at the 2015 World Championships.
His silver in the 200 freestyle in Omaha was just one-hundredth of a second off the winning time of Townley Haas, so flipping that script in Brazil could yield a surprise.
Chase Kalisz
If Michael Phelps suggests you're a rising star, you're going to be in the spotlight. So if you're a little more familiar with the baby-faced 22-year-old Kalisz by the end of next month, don't be surprised.
He was an NCAA champion in the 400-yard individual medley in both 2013 and 2014, won a silver in the 400-meter IM at the 2013 World Championships before adding a bronze in 2015.
His 400 IM win at the trials in Omaha made him the first official qualifier for Rio, and his 4:09.54 was the second-fastest time in the world this season, which indicates a medal in his debut Olympics is within reach.
David Plummer
He's been swimming internationally for a decade, but the 30-year-old Plummer will step into the Olympic realm amid a wave of American backstroke transition when he arrives in Rio.
None of the four U.S. backstroke medalists from 2012 in London qualified for Brazil, leaving Ryan Murphy and Plummer to carry the 100-meter load after an epic race in Omaha. Both were on world-record pace through 50 meters before a wall-bound duel that ultimately saw Murphy touch two-hundredths of a second ahead.
Plummer, though, turned in the world' second-fastest time this season in a preliminary heat, which indicates he's more than ready to sneak onto the podium's top step if good fortune is with him.
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The Rest of the Team
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Caeleb Dressel
The sizzling-fast Floridian will turn from teen to 20-something at the Rio Games, and his blistering speed in NCAA pools shows his acumen.
It's a crowded world stage in the Olympic sprint races, though, so Dressel's time on the 100-meter freestyle podium steps may have to come four years from now in Tokyo.
Anthony Ervin
While teammate Dressel is about to enter his 20s, the much-traveled Ervin is on the back half of his 30s. He shared a gold medal in the 50-meter freestyle in the 2000 Olympics—before Dressel had reached kindergarten—then retired, returned and took fifth in the same event in the 2012 Games at London.
As for 2016, he was just one-hundredth of a second behind reigning Olympic champion Nathan Adrian at the trials, and his top time of this season—21.52—is a tenth of a second off the world's best. Anything's possible in the 50 free. And knowing Ervin, 2020's not out of the question either.
Townley Haas
For a 19-year-old Olympic newbie, Haas has already shown world-class perseverance.
He was one spot away from a Rio berth in the 400-meter freestyle at trials, then emerged from a No. 7 seed to win the 200-meter freestyle over more heralded competitors like Conor Dwyer and Ryan Lochte.
He said afterward it was the best race of his life, and that may have to be enough for this season.
Jay Litherland
It's a big leap to Rio for Litherland, who had been an also-ran at the 2012 Olympic Trials and whose top international accomplishment is a gold in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2015 World University Games.
He's bound for Brazil based on a second-place finish in Omaha in the 400 IM, a race in which he passed Ryan Lochte in the final 100 meters to earn silver behind Chase Kalisz while turning in the world's fourth-fastest time of the season.
Cody Miller
It's been a slow, steady progression for Miller, who swam in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic trials before finally getting through the gate and earning a pass to Rio in 2016.
He was fifth in the 100-meter breaststroke at the 2015 World Championships and will swim that race in Brazil after taking second behind Kevin Cordes in Omaha.
Jacob Pebley
It's been a long-term work in progress for Pebley, who was 16th and seventh in the 100- and 200-meter backstrokes, respectively, at the 2012 trials in Omaha and subsequently set his sights on Brazil. The World University Games have been his playpen in the interim years, with three bronzes in 2013 before a gold in the 200-meter backstroke in 2015, in which he was more than a second ahead of the field.
That same event became his Brazilian ticket this time around, when a second-place finish behind University of California teammate and fellow first-timer Ryan Murphy prompted a celebration.
Tom Shields
A heavy workload at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Trials didn't provide a trip to the big stage, but it may have primed the pump for success for Shields, who finished second to Michael Phelps in both the 100- and 200-meter butterfly races at the 2016 trials to get a ticket to Rio.
His 200 time isn't among the world's best, but his 100 time is fourth this season, which indicates he's on the fringe of a medal-contention breakthrough.
Jordan Wilimovsky
One thing's for certain, the California-born Wilimovsky will be a busy man in Brazil.
His second-place finish behind Connor Jaeger earned him a Rio trip in the 1500-meter freestyle and made him the first American to ever reach the Games in both pool swimming and open water swimming. Neither Wilimovsky nor Jaeger is among the world's fastest in the 1500 this year, though, which makes a podium trip a long shot at best.
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