The road to Paris begins in Indiana.
Stars will descend on Indianapolis on Saturday as the U.S. begins the Olympic swimming trials at Lucas Oil Stadium. The nine-day event will mark the first time swimming trials have been held in an NFL stadium as the U.S. prepares to capitalize on the popularity of the event.
The qualifiers will serve as qualifiers for the Summer Olympics in Paris, where a fierce battle is expected, especially between the United States and Australia. In 2021, the United States faced off against Australia, who won 11 gold medals to Australia’s nine. In total, the United States won 30 medals to Australia’s 21.
Katie Ledecky is expected to face a challenge again this summer not only from Ariarne Titmus but also from Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, who has already made her mark on the international stage.
For now, these swimmers just need to focus on getting to Paris, which for some, like Ledecky and Caleb Dressel, is a near certainty, but for those headed to Indiana, there are no guarantees.
Here’s everything you need to know about the format of the Swimming Qualifier Team Trials.
U.S. Olympic Team Trials Rules
When it comes to competing in the team qualifiers, it’s not that complicated. The athlete who has the best or second-best time in the event will be selected for the team, as long as they also have an Olympic qualifying time. It’s rare for a U.S. athlete to finish in the top two in the team qualifiers without also having an Olympic qualifying time.
The same process will be applied to relays, with swimmers being selected based on their qualifying swim times.
To advance to the qualifiers, there is a qualification process. To have a chance to represent the United States at the Olympics, swimmers must meet the following criteria, according to the U.S. Olympic Qualifying Event Information Handbook:
- Be a U.S. citizen eligible to represent the U.S. in the 2024 Olympic Games
- Be a current, registered premium member of USA Swimming in good standing
- Achieve the qualifying time standard between November 30, 2022 and June 4, 2024
Athletes who recorded a qualifying time after June 4, 2024 and before June 10, 2024 may submit a time through the Late Qualification process. Submissions are due by 11:59 PM ET on June 10, 2024. This process cannot be used to submit improved times and will incur an additional fee.
If a swimmer has previously competed in another country, the change of competing nationality must be approved by World Aquatics and applied for before the entry deadline.
Acceptable times are those from USA Swimming sanctioned competitions, USA Swimming approved competitions submitted to SWIMS, and USA Swimming observed competitions where the proper procedures have been followed to ensure times are properly recorded.
2024 Olympic Qualification Time Standards
Below is a table of Olympic qualification times and Olympic selection time standards for the Paris 2024 Games.
| event | Men’s OQT | Male OCT | Women’s OQT | Women’s OCT |
| 50m freestyle | 21.96 | 22.07 | 24.7 | 24.82 |
| 100m freestyle | 48.34 | 48.58 | 53.61 | 53.88 |
| 200m freestyle | 1:46.26 | 1:46.79 | 1:57.26 | 1:57.85 |
| 400m freestyle | 3:46.78 | 3:47.91 | 4:07.90 | 4:09.14 |
| 800m freestyle | 7:51.65 | 7:54.01 | 8:26.71 | 8:29.24 |
| 1500m freestyle | 15:00.99 | 15:05.49 | 16:09.09 | 16:13.94 |
| 100m backstroke | 53.74 | 54.01 | 59.99 | 1:00.29 |
| 200m backstroke | 1:57.50 | 1:58.09 | 2:10.39 | 2:11.04 |
| 100m breaststroke | 59.49 | 59.79 | 1:06.79 | 1:07.12 |
| 200m breaststroke | 2:09.68 | 2:10.33 | 2:23.91 | 2:24.63 |
| 100m butterfly | 51.67 | 51.93 | 57.92 | 58.21 |
| 200m butterfly | 1:55.78 | 1:56.36 | 2:08.43 | 2:09.07 |
| 200m Individual Medley | 1:57.94 | 1:58.53 | 2:11.47 | 2:12.13 |
| 400m Individual Medley | 4:12.50 | 4:13.76 | 4:38.53 | 4:39.92 |
How many swimmers will compete in the 2024 Olympics?
Each NOC can qualify a maximum of 26 athletes, both men and women, for the Olympic Games. Each NOC can qualify two athletes per individual event and one relay team per relay event.
NOCs can only allow pairs of athletes to compete if both athletes have achieved Olympic qualifying times. Once an athlete achieves the OQT, they are immediately eligible to compete unless both athletes have already qualified.
If there are fewer than 852 athletes remaining after the qualification period, athletes who record times equal to or faster than the Olympic selection time will be invited to compete.
How old do you have to be to compete in the Olympics?
Age restrictions vary from country to country. The default minimum age is 16, although some people are as young as 13.
In the United States, the youngest athlete eligible to compete in the Olympics is 13, according to the Olympic Committee.
