Friday, July 22, 2022
2022 Phillips 66 National Championships: What to Watch For
More than 600 athletes are set to take stage at the Phillips 66 National Championships, which takes place in Irvine, Calif., from July 26-30.
With countless Olympians, record holders and National Team talents on the psych sheet, here are some of the marquee matchups and events to watch for in Irvine:
Freestyle
The women's distance freestyle group in Irvine features some of the most prominent figures in American freestyle over the past decade: Katie Ledecky, Leah Smith, Erica Sullivan and Sierra Schmidt. This will be the first time since 2018 where Ledecky and Smith compete in the same U.S. National Championships, and will be just the second time since the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 where Olympic silver medalist Erica Sullivan will swim in a USA Swimming national meet. The women's sprint contingent is led by four-time Olympic medalist, Abbey Weitzeil.
The men's freestyle group is led by National Team forces Kieran Smith, Zach Apple and Bobby Finke. Shaine Casas enters the mix in the 100m event and will have a go against recent 4x100m freestyle relay world champion Justin Ress. All eyes will be on Finke in the distance events, as he comes in as first seed in the 800 and second seed in the 1500.
Backstroke
The women's 200m backstroke looks to be the premier event in the discipline, featuring Olympians Rhyan White and Claire Curzan compete alongside their U.S. National Team teammates Claire Curzan and Leah Smith.
The men's field is headlined by Ress, though 19-year-old Jack Aikins comes in as the top-seed in the 200 and second seed in the 100.
Butterfly
Fresh off an appearance in the event at the 2022 FINA World Championships, Curzan heads to Irvine as top seed in the women's 100m butterfly. The University of Texas' Kelly Pash comes in as the only other swimmer on the psych sheet with a sub-:58 seed time and will be looking for her first U.S. national title through swims in both butterfly events.
Trenton Julian leads the men's 200m butterfly field, while Casas holds the top spot in the 100m event. Casas had a tremendous swim the last time he contested the event on U.S. soil, going 51.09 at March's TYR Pro Swim Series San Antonio to beat National Team talents Caeleb Dressel and Coleman Steward by more than half a second.
Breaststroke
American-record holder Michael Andrew comes in boasting the most decorated resume in the discipline and looks to be the favorite in the 100m event, though he'll be up against 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming finalists Josh Matheny and Max McHugh. Kaitlyn Dobler leads the women's field and looks for just the second first-place finish at a senior-level, national meet on her young career.
Individual Medley
While most known for their accolades in distance freestyle events, Leah Smith and Ledecky claim the top seeds, respectively, in the women's 400m IM this week. Smith claimed the 2017 national title in the event, while Ledecky will look for her first IM title of her career in the event.
The men's 200m IM should feature a tight battle for first between Casas, Kieran Smith and Julian. U.S. National Team members Destin Lasco and Jake Foster will also contest the event and are likely to make for a close race.
With countless Olympians, record holders and National Team talents on the psych sheet, here are some of the marquee matchups and events to watch for in Irvine:
Freestyle
The women's distance freestyle group in Irvine features some of the most prominent figures in American freestyle over the past decade: Katie Ledecky, Leah Smith, Erica Sullivan and Sierra Schmidt. This will be the first time since 2018 where Ledecky and Smith compete in the same U.S. National Championships, and will be just the second time since the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 where Olympic silver medalist Erica Sullivan will swim in a USA Swimming national meet. The women's sprint contingent is led by four-time Olympic medalist, Abbey Weitzeil.
The men's freestyle group is led by National Team forces Kieran Smith, Zach Apple and Bobby Finke. Shaine Casas enters the mix in the 100m event and will have a go against recent 4x100m freestyle relay world champion Justin Ress. All eyes will be on Finke in the distance events, as he comes in as first seed in the 800 and second seed in the 1500.
Backstroke
The women's 200m backstroke looks to be the premier event in the discipline, featuring Olympians Rhyan White and Claire Curzan compete alongside their U.S. National Team teammates Claire Curzan and Leah Smith.
The men's field is headlined by Ress, though 19-year-old Jack Aikins comes in as the top-seed in the 200 and second seed in the 100.
Butterfly
Fresh off an appearance in the event at the 2022 FINA World Championships, Curzan heads to Irvine as top seed in the women's 100m butterfly. The University of Texas' Kelly Pash comes in as the only other swimmer on the psych sheet with a sub-:58 seed time and will be looking for her first U.S. national title through swims in both butterfly events.
Trenton Julian leads the men's 200m butterfly field, while Casas holds the top spot in the 100m event. Casas had a tremendous swim the last time he contested the event on U.S. soil, going 51.09 at March's TYR Pro Swim Series San Antonio to beat National Team talents Caeleb Dressel and Coleman Steward by more than half a second.
Breaststroke
American-record holder Michael Andrew comes in boasting the most decorated resume in the discipline and looks to be the favorite in the 100m event, though he'll be up against 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming finalists Josh Matheny and Max McHugh. Kaitlyn Dobler leads the women's field and looks for just the second first-place finish at a senior-level, national meet on her young career.
Individual Medley
While most known for their accolades in distance freestyle events, Leah Smith and Ledecky claim the top seeds, respectively, in the women's 400m IM this week. Smith claimed the 2017 national title in the event, while Ledecky will look for her first IM title of her career in the event.
The men's 200m IM should feature a tight battle for first between Casas, Kieran Smith and Julian. U.S. National Team members Destin Lasco and Jake Foster will also contest the event and are likely to make for a close race.