JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ryan Murphy is headed back to the Olympics with a world-leading time in the pool, too.
The Bolles product and six-time Games medalist won the 100 backstroke on Monday night at the Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis to lock in his spot for Paris next month. It’s Murphy’s third time qualifying for the Games.
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Murphy posted a world-best 52.22 to win the event in front of Hunter Armstrong (52.72). Murphy’s time is better than Russia’s Miron Lifintsev (52.34) and China’s Xu Jiayu (52.39) in the 2024 rankings.
He’s not done in Indianapolis yet either. Murphy is seeded No. 1 in the 200 back and has a No. 6 seed in the 100 fly. It’s likely that Murphy will compete in the 200 back, with prelims and semis on Wednesday and the finals on Thursday. It’s less certain that Murphy will compete in the 100 fly.
Murphy has four gold medals, a silver and a bronze in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro and 2020 in Tokyo. Murphy won gold in the 100 and 200 back and the 4x100 medley relay in Rio. He took bronze in the 100 back, silver in the 200 back and gold in the 4x100 medley relay in Tokyo.
Clay High graduate Caeleb Dressel is also competing in the Trials. Dressel begins his quest to qualify for his third Games on Tuesday. He’s seeded in the 100 free, the 50 free and 100 fly. University of Florida swimmer and Bartram Trail graduate Macguire McDuff is also one to watch in the 100 free. He’s seeded seventh with a 48.08, ahead of Dressel at 10 with a 48.3.
Winners of events are guaranteed an Olympics berth, and runners-up almost always go, too, provided their time at the Trials meets the Olympic standard. The top four finishers in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle events (due to relays) qualify. A maximum of 26 swimmers make the team.