INDIANAPOLIS —
It was a night for familiar names at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.
American backstroke star Ryan Murphy is headed to his third Olympics. So is breaststroke queen Lilly King.
And how about Katie Grimes? She’ll be swimming indoors and outdoors at the Paris Games.
In a hectic session featuring five finals, Murphy won the men’s 100-meter backstroke Monday to continue a run of excellence that dates to his breakout at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
The 28-year-old Floridian touched in 52.22 second and now gets a chance to add to his already impressive resume, which includes four golds, one silver and one bronze.
“I think I enjoy it a little bit more than I used to,” Murphy said. “I used to feel like I was going to throw up before every race.”
Hunter Armstrong claimed the likely second Olympic spot in 52.72 — edging Jack Aikins by two-hundredths of a second.
The 27-year-old King thrilled her home-state fans at Lucas Oil Stadium, by taking the 100 breaststroke in 1 minute, 5.43 seconds,
She has said that her third Olympics will be her last. She’s already got two gold, two silvers and one bronze in her stellar career.
“This is unbelievably special,” King said. “You can hear your voice echo in here. I love swimming here.”
Emma Weber was the runner-up in 1:06.10 — edging Tokyo gold medalist Lydia Jacoby by 0.27, which means the Alaska native won’t get a chance to defend her title in Paris.
Grimes has already clinched a spot in open water, which will be held in the Seine River. She added a pool spot with a victory in the women’s 400 individual medley.
Grimes built a big lead through the butterfly and backstroke legs, surrendered the top spot to Emma Weyant on the breaststroke, but rallied in the freestyle to take the guaranteed spot for Paris in 4:35.00.
At Tokyo, Grimes was the youngest member of the entire U.S. Olympic team at 15. She’s a veteran now.
Weyant, the silver medalist in this event at the Tokyo Games, took the expected second spot for these Olympics in 4:35.56.
Luke Hobson earned his first Olympic berth with a victory in the men’s 200 freestyle.
The 20-year-old Hobson, a college star at Texas, touched in 1:44.89. Chris Guiliano pulled a surprise from lane one, taking the second individual spot for Paris in 1:45.38.
Drew Kibler and Tokyo medalist Kieran Smith were third and fourth, respectively, guaranteeing a spot on the 4×200 relay at the Olympics. The next two, Brooks Curry and Blake Pieroni, will likely be on the team, as well.
The big crowd also got a glimpse of the future in 14-year-old Audrey Derivaux, who surprisingly claimed the last spot in the 400 IM final.
She was second to Grimes at the midway point of the race and couldn’t hold on, finishing last in 4:46.89.