U.S. Short Course Trials, Day Two Men’s Finals: Caeleb Dressel Grabs Title in 50 Freestyle to Return to International Waters
There should be plenty of record assaults during Day Two of men’s competition at the United States World Short Course Championships Trials in Westmont, Illinois. Following a morning prelims session that produced an American record in the 100-meter breaststroke, Van Mathias will take aim at the world record in the championship final. Mathias sped to a time of 55.48 during prelims.
Meanwhile, the men’s 100 butterfly is stacked with talent, with the University of Texas’ Tyler Ray seeded first in the chase for berths to the World Champs in Beijing. Ray (48.47) set a U.S. Open mark in the morning and will be joined in the field by former world-record holder Caeleb Dressel, along with Ilya Kharun, who is seeking to represent the United States in international competition for the first time.
Men’s finals will also be conducted in the 200 backstroke, 50 freestyle, 400 freestyle and 100 individual medley. Chris Guiliano (20.63) and Jack Alexy (20.66) posted the fastest prelims times in the 50 freestyle, and will be challenged by Kharun (20.73) and Dressel 20.84).
Here is an event-by-event recap of the Day Two men’s finals:
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Back in January, Ilya Kharun made the announcement that he was switching his sporting nationality from Canada to the United States. A two-time Olympic medalist, Kharun will get his first chance to represent Team USA at the World Short Course Champs in December, thanks to a victory in the 100 butterfly. Setting a U.S. Open record, Kharun prevailed over a loaded field on Thursday night, going 48.45. That effort was .11 clear of runnerup Tyler Ray of Texas, who checked in with a swim of 48.56.
Kharun put together a wire-to-wire triumph, as he went out in 22.68 for the opening 50 meters and fended off his opposition down the stretch. When Kharun arrives at the Water Cube in Beijing for the World Champs, he’ll be one of the leading contenders for the podium. He was the silver medalist in the 100 fly at the 2022 edition of the World Short Course Champs, which were held in Melbourne.
“I have been waiting for this since I was 16 (making a U.S. team). It was a great race,” Kharun said. “It was awesome.”
En route to his second-place finish, Ray took down a pair of big guns by the slimmest of margins. Ray’s effort of 48.56 was .01 quicker than the matching 48.57s of Caeleb Dressel and Luca Urlando.
Men’s 200 Backstroke
It was a big showing for former Cal Bears in the 200 backstroke, as Gabriel Jett and Destin Lasco finished at the front of the field. Trailing Lasco throughout the race, Jett pulled ahead of his former college teammate and won the race in 1:47.75, which was .19 ahead of the 1:47.94 of Lasco. Jett is coming off a stellar summer, which included a silver medal in the 200 freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships.
Heading into the final 50 meters, Jett (1:20.58) narrowly trailed Lasco (1:20.54), but it was Jett who had the best closing speed and came away with the title. The Cal standouts were the only athletes to break the 1:50 barrier, as third place went to Owen McDonald in 1:50.10.
“Always. It is an interesting dynamic. It helps me because it feels like practice. I know how Destin swims and how he trains. It takes all the pressure off and lets me have fun with it,” Jett said. “It feels good to win. I just went in and executed. There is a fast American record out there.”
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
There was once a time that Van Mathias was out of the sport of swimming. Now, he is the world-record holder, a mark of 55.14 doing the honors in the final of the 100 breaststroke. Mathias was under world-record pace throughout the race and took .14 off the 55.28 that Belarus’ Ilya Shymanovich recorded back in 2021. Mathias was followed in second place by Brian Benzing in 56.23.
Read More About Van Mathias’ World Record
Men’s 50 Freestyle
Veteran Caeleb Dressel proved that the 30-year-old still has some chapters to write in the sport. The three-time Olympian emerged on top of a deep field to win the 50 freestyle in 20.57, just .02 faster than the 20.59 of Jack Alexy. The victory earned Dressel a trip to the World Champs in Beijing, which will mark his first international trip as a Team USA member since the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Dressel climbed the blocks for the 50 freestyle after a tie for third in the 1o0 fly earlier in the session. This time around, he didn’t let anyone reach the wall ahead of him. The race was the second of three on the evening for Dressel, who also had the 100 IM later in the night. Chris Guiliano finished third in 20.66, with Ilya Kharun going 20.69 for fourth place after winning the 100 fly at the start of the session.
Men’s 400 Freestyle
Known as the top American 200 freestyle, Luke Hobson excelled at twice that distance on Thursday night, winning the 400 freestyle to punch his ticket to Beijing. Sitting in third place through the opening 100 meters, Hobson moved into the top spot by the 150-meter turn and never relinquished that lead, en route to a time of 3:36.24. That performance handed Hobson a victory of nearly a second over Kieran Smith, who was the runnerup in 3:37.13.
Hobson has medaled at the Olympic Games and World Championships during his superb career and he’ll have the chance to add more hardware when he heads to the World Champs. Hobson is likely to contest the 200 freestyle at Worlds, as he is the reigning champion and world-record holder in the event. That discipline comes later in the schedule at Trials.
Placing third was Ryan Erisman, who won the 800 freestyle on the opening night of competition. Erisman touched the wall in 3:38.43.
Men’s 100 Individual Medley
Putting the finishing touches on a spectacular triple, Caeleb Dressel secured his second victory of the night by dominating the opposition in the 100 individual medley. Dressel was under world-record pace at the midway point of the race and touched in a U.S. Open-record time of 50.34, which was almost a second faster than Grant House, who was the runnerup in 51.33. Third place went to Maximus Williamson in 51.39.
Coming off a victory in the 50 freestyle earlier in the evening, which was preceded by a third-place showing in the 100 fly, Dressel left no doubt in the 100 IM. He split 22.37 at the 50-meter mark, a mark that handed him a massive advantage. From there, he completed his business and made himself a gold-medal prospect at Worlds.
Dressel is the world-record holder in the 100 IM, having clocked 49.28 during International Swimming League competition in 2020. His effort on Thursday broke Shaine Casas‘ U.S. Open record of 50.45, set last year in Westmont.
