With the Paris Games underway, let’s take a look at the new U.S. Olympic swimmers on the men’s side and evaluate their chances of reaching the podium. In total, 26 men are on the U.S. roster.
1.Jack Alexy
Twenty-one-year-old Jack Alexy made an impressive start to the Paris Games by helping the U.S. win gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay on the first day. Alongside Chris Guiliano, Hunter Armstrong, and Caeleb Dressel, Alexy helped touch in 3:09.28 to win the event.
Alexy earned his spot in Paris in the 100 freestyle and the relay at the Olympic Trials when he touched second in 47.47 behind Guiliano’s 47.38. In the 100 freestyle, he will face strong competition from China’s Pan Zhanle and Romania’s David Popovici who have both gone under 47.
A native of New Jersey, Alexy swims for the University of California, Berkeley. He previously competed in the 2020 Olympic Trials, where he broke Caeleb Dressel’s 17-18 National Age Group Record in the 100 freestyle.
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2.Shaine Casas
Shaine Casas, 24, is making his Olympic debut after narrowly missing his opportunity to compete at the Tokyo Games. Casas, who attended McAllen High School in McAllen, Texas, and swam for Texas A&M University, qualified for Paris by finishing second in the 200 IM at the Trials with a time of 1:55.83.
In 2021, Casas became a three-time champion at the NCAA Division I Men's Championships after winning the 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard backstroke, and 200-yard individual medley (IM). In an IM race, a swimmer has to swim all four strokes in this specific order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
In Paris, Casas will compete in the 200 IM against Léon Marchand of France, who has posted a time of 1:54.82, and Wang Shun of China, who has a time of 1:54.62. Shun won the event in Tokyo.
3.Matt Fallon
Matt Fallon, 21, from New Jersey, will make his Olympic debut in the 200 breaststroke. Fallon won the event at the Olympic Trials with a time of 2:06.54, breaking the American record of 2:07.17. He swims for the University of Pennsylvania, becoming the fifth swimmer in program history to qualify for the Olympics.
Fallon competed at the 2020 Olympic Trials where he reached the finals in the 200 breaststroke, placing 8th. Fallon won bronze at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in f*ckuoka, Japan in the event with his time of 2:07.74.
Fallon will be up against Qin Haiyang of China, Léon Marchand of France, Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia, and Ippei Watanabe of Japan, all of whom have posted times under 2:07. Haiyang has gone under 2:06, while Stubblety-Cook won the event in Tokyo.
4.Carson Foster
Carson Foster, 22, from Ohio, is competing in Paris after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. He secured his spot in Paris by winning both the 200 IM and 400 IM at the Trials. Foster holds the 400 IM record at the University of Texas.
So far in Paris, Foster has won bronze in the 400 IM, finishing behind Tomoyuki Matsush*ta of Japan and Léon Marchand of France, who holds the world record. Foster will also compete in the 200 IM, facing Marchand and Wang Shun of China.
5.Chris Guiliano
Chris Guiliano, 21, from Pennsylvania, has already won gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay in Paris. Guiliano still has the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle, and 4x200 freestyle relay events ahead of him. He swims for the University of Notre Dame.
The last swimmer to qualify for the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 200 freestyle for the same Olympics was Matt Biondi in 1988. Guiliano will compete against several swimmers who have posted times close to his in the 50 freestyle (21.69). In the 100 freestyle, he will face China’s Pan Zhanle and Romania’s David Popovici, who have both gone under 47 seconds. Additionally, he will be up against athletes with faster times than his 1:45.38 in the 200 freestyle.
6.Thomas Heilman
At just 17, Thomas Heilman has qualified for his first Olympic Games. He finished second in the 200 butterfly at the Trials and won the 100 butterfly. Heilman set a new National Age Group record in the 100 butterfly, breaking Michael Phelps’ record by milliseconds.
Heilman, from Virginia and committed to the University of Virginia starting in fall 2025, will face Léon Marchand, Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland, Kristóf Milák of Hungary, and Tomoru Honda of Japan in Paris. Milák won gold in Tokyo.
7.Luke Hobson
Luke Hobson, 21, from Nevada, won the 200 freestyle at the Olympic Trials with a time of 1:44.89. He will compete in both the 200 freestyle and the 4x200 freestyle relay in Paris. Hobson also holds NCAA, American, and U.S. Open records in the 200 freestyle. He swims for the University of Texas.
In Paris, Hobson will face David Popovici of Romania, who has posted a time of 1:43.13. Several other athletes have recorded times under 1:45, including Hobson, whose time is listed at 1:44.87.
8.David Johnston
David Johnston, 22, from Texas, qualified for the 1500 freestyle in Paris by finishing second at the Trials. He will also compete in the men’s 10km open water race. Johnston, an eight-time All-American, will represent the U.S. alongside Bobby Finke, who won the event in Tokyo. Johnston swims for the University of Texas.
Johnston will face several competitors, as many swimmers have posted times of 14:52 or better. His personal best is 14:52.74.
9.Keaton Jones
Nineteen-year-old Keaton Jones will race the 200 backstroke in Paris after finishing second in the event at the Trials with a time of 1:54.61. He is from Arizona and swims for the University of California, Berkeley.
A unique fact about Jones is that he became the first U.S. swimmer to break an ice swimming world record at the Ice Swimming World Championships in Samoens, France, in 2023. He set new records in both the 50 backstroke and the 100 butterfly.
In Paris, he will face Hubert Kós of Hungary and Hugo González de Oliveira of Spain, both of whom have posted times under 1:55.
10.Matt King
Matt King, 22, from Washington, has already completed his events in Paris. He is included here as a first-time Olympian. King contributed to the U.S. winning gold in the 4x100 freestyle relay by helping the team advance to the final with his performance in the prelims.
King initially committed to Alabama but later transferred to the University of Virginia. He is a six-time world championship relay medalist.
11.Josh Matheny
Josh Matheny, 21, from Pennsylvania, missed his shot in Tokyo after placing fifth in the 100 breaststroke final at the Trials. This time, he secured his spot in Paris by finishing second in the 200 breaststroke at the Trials with a time of 2:08.86.
Matheny swims for Indiana University Bloomington, where he is a seven-time All-American. He will compete against Qin Haiyang of China, Léon Marchand of France, Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia, and Ippei Watanabe of Japan.
12.Aaron Shackell
Aaron Shackell has already completed his individual event in Paris, where he finished eighth in the 400 freestyle. At just 19 years old, Shackell was the youngest swimmer in the final. He won the event at the U.S. Trials.
Shackell is from Indiana. His sister Alex is also competing in Paris in the 200 butterfly and 4x200 freestyle relay. Their father represented Great Britain in the 100 freestyle at the 1996 Games, and their mother was an All-American swimmer at Auburn University.
13.Charlie Swanson
Charlie Swanson, 26, from Virginia, has completed his individual event in Paris, where he did not qualify for the final in the 100 breaststroke. He placed second in the event at the Trials.
Swanson swam for the University of Michigan and qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2016 and 2020. He won gold in the 400 IM at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
14.Luca Urlando
Luca Urlando, 22, qualified for his first Olympics by placing second in the 200 butterfly at the Trials with a time of 1:55.08. Urlando is from California and missed part of the 2022-2023 NCAA season due to a shoulder injury. He swims for the University of Georgia, where he set NCAA, U.S. Open, and American records in the 100-yard backstroke.
Alongside Thomas Heilman, Urlando will compete against Léon Marchand, Krzysztof Chmielewski of Poland, Kristóf Milák of Hungary, and Tomoru Honda of Japan in Paris.
15.Luke Whitlock
At 18 years old, Luke Whitlock qualified for the 800 freestyle at the Trials by securing second place with a time of 7:45.19, just behind Bobby Finke’s 7:44.22. Whitlock’s time set a new National Age Group record. He is from Indiana and has committed to swim for the University of Florida this fall.
Whitlock competed against several athletes who posted times under 7:45.19 in the 800 freestyle in Paris. He missed making the final in the event.
