The US Olympic swim trials were the biggest indoor swimming event ever the last couple weeks, in that world-class pool at Indy’s Lucas Oil Stadium, and they wrapped up Sunday night.
One of the top headlines was that American Katie Ledecky (pictured) will likely spearhead the US team, going into her 4th Olympics, qualifying in each of her 4 specialty events– the 200, 400, 800 and 1500-meter freestyles. Ledecky won her first gold medal at 15, and now at 27, she’s poised to shatter Janet Evans’ record as the oldest American woman to even swim a distance race at the Olympics, much less win, which is likely in each of the 4 events. Evans was 24 years old at her last games, in 1996. Ledecky currently holds seven Olympic gold medals, and has won 21 World Championship titles.
By the end of the week, more than 285,000 fans had attended the meet. USA Swimming says that’s a “60% increase from the previous total attendance record at Swimming Olympic Trials.” Of course, it was also the first swim meet held in an NFL stadium.
“One of USA Swimming’s main goals, aside from remaining the best swimming nation in the world, is to promote our sport and expose it to new audiences,” said USA Swimming President and CEO Tim Hinchey III in a news release. He added, “As a host city, Indianapolis has exceeded our expectations, with the most tickets we’ve ever sold for an event. This overwhelming support is a testament to the growing popularity of the top Olympic sport and a promising sign for its growth.”
The most attended night of the meet was last Wednesday, the 19th, when 22,209 fans watched the swimmers compete.
It was the second time during the meet a record was broken. On opening night, Saturday, June 15, a record-breaking 20,689 fans were at Lucas Oil, and Ledecky’s events drew some of the biggest crowds.
She says, “The whole week was incredibly exciting.”
The 2024 Summer Olympics begin July 26 in Paris.
“I don’t know if anything can really match Indy, but I think it’ll be a similar feeling to here and to past Olympics, just having fans from all over the world there and, obviously, racing everyone from all over the world,” Ledecky says.
Katie Ledecky photo– TYR Sport, Inc.