American swimming stars Dressel and Manuel settle for relay spots at US swim trials

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Coming back from lengthy layoffs, American swimming stars Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel were eager to claim their first individual events of the Paris Olympics.

Instead, they had to settle for supporting roles.

Dressel finished third in the men's 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials on Wednesday night, while Manuel touched fourth in the women's 100 free.

Only the top two will get to swim the events individually in Paris, but Dressel and Manuel will both be part of the 4x100 freestyle relays.

“I think Paris is going to be a blast,” said Manuel, who has endured a long road back after being diagnosed with overtraining syndrome ahead of the Tokyo Games. “It’s a different spot than I’m used to right now with only being a relay swimmer. But it’s my third Olympic team and that’s something that’s really hard to accomplish.”

Potential breakout star Kate Douglass claimed the victory and Torri Huske took the runner-up position, with Gretchen Walsh also finishing ahead of Manuel.

Dressel, the winner of five gold medals in Tokyo, won’t get a chance to defend his 100 freestyle title after reaching the wall behind Chris Guiliano and Jack Alexy.

“I’m trying to have fun; I am having fun,” Dressel told the crowd of 22,209 on the deck of the temporary pool inside Lucas Oil Stadium. “You don’t know how much it means to me, the love I’m getting from you. It’s been tough.”

Dressel walked away from swimming in the midst of the 2022 world championships, later revealing that he needed an extended break to rediscover his love of the sport.

Dressel failed to even qualify for the 2023 worlds, but his times have improved significantly since last fall. He still has a shot to qualify individually in the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly — two more events he won at the last Summer Games.

Manuel also has the 50-meter freestyle left on her plate.

In perhaps the surest bet of the meet, Katie Ledecky claimed her third victory with another dominating performance in the 1,500 freestyle, though the time was a bit of a disappointment.

Seventeen-year-old Thomas Heilman won the men’s 200 butterfly, while Matt Fallon touched first in the 200 breaststroke. Both will be first-time Olympians.

Dressel was all smiles as he hugged the guys ahead of him, saying he was pleased to be on the relay that will set its sights on taking down the world record at the Olympics.

“That's an unbelievably fast top four, top five — oh my gosh, the top six,” he said, looking at the times on the massive scoreboard above the pool. “That's a great group of guys. It's fast.”

Guiliano and Alexy were tied at the turn, but Guiliano got to the wall in 47.38 seconds to edge Alexy's 47.47. The margin was even closer to third, with Dressel missing an individual spot by just six-hundredths of a second.

His time of 47.53 was about a half-second off his winning performance in Tokyo (47.02).

Hunter Armstrong finished fourth, with Ryan Held and Matt King also likely to be added to the Olympic team as relay swimmers.

Manuel was the first Black woman to capture an individual swimming gold when she tied for the top spot in the 100 freestyle at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

She didn't get a chance to defend her title in Tokyo, and she won't swim the event in Paris either.

Still, Manuel was clearly moved just to be on a relay, breaking down in tears in front of the big crowd.

“It’s a miracle that I’m even able to stand up here and be able to race again." she said. "The people close to me know the journey it took to get here. I’m really proud of myself and proud of Team USA.”

Douglass was fourth at the turn, but she powered to the finish for a winning time of 52.56. Huske finished at 52.93, while Walsh faded from the lead at the midway point to touch third in 53.13.

Manuel was next at 53.25, with fifth-place finisher Abbey Weitzeil (53.70) also likely headed to her third Olympics as a relay option.

After winning a bronze medal in the 200 individual medley at Tokyo, Douglass has become one of America's most versatile swimmers. She won a total of 14 medals at the last three world championships in everything from the freestyle to the breaststroke to the individual medley to the relays.

Now, she's headed back to the Olympics, though there's still plenty of work to do in Indy.

Douglass entered five events, leading to a grueling double Wednesday. She returned from her 100 freestyle victory to take the top time in the semifinals of the 200 breaststroke, stamping her as the favorite over local favorite Lilly King in Thursday's final.

WOMEN'S 1,500 FREESTYLE

Ledecky added to her victories in the 200 and 400 free, though she doesn’t plan to swim the shorter event in Paris. She’s also a huge favorite to take the 800 free title before she leaves Indy.

Ledecky's time of 15 minutes, 37.35 second was nearly 17 seconds off her world record and not much better than her pace in the preliminaries.

“I was expecting to go a lot faster,” she conceded. “I know I have a lot more in me than the end result today. I just didn’t have that next gear.”

Grimes earned her second individual event at the Olympics with a time of 15:57.77, adding to her victory in the 400 individual medley. She’ll be swimming indoors and outdoors at the Olympics, having also claimed a spot in the 10-kilometer open water race.

MEN'S 200 BUTTERFLY

Heilman will become the youngest U.S. male Olympic swimmer since Michael Phelps made the team for Sydney at age 15.

Luke Whitlock, 18, had laid claim to that distinction a night earlier with his second-place showing in the 800 freestyle. Then someone even younger made the team when Heilman touched first in 1:54.50.

“I'm just looking forward to hanging out with the team and building relationships that will last a lifetime,” Heilman said.

Luca Urlando claimed the expected second spot in Paris with a time of 1:55.08.

MEN'S 200 BREASTSTROKE

Fallon cruised to victory in 2:06.54, more than 2 seconds ahead of expected Olympic teammate Josh Matheny (2:08.86) in the runner-up spot.

Fallon broke an 8-year-old American record with his time. Josh Prenot held the previous mark of 2:07.17 since the 2016 trials

“It doesn't even feel real yet,” Fallon said. “I just wanted to go out there and have fun, and I definitely did in that race.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Matthew Fallon reacts after the Men's 200 breaststroke finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Chris Guiliano reacts after winning the Men's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Caeleb Dressel, Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy and Hunter Armstrong celebrate after the Men's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Caeleb Dressel, Chris Guiliano, Jack Alexy and Hunter Armstrong celebrate after the Men's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Caeleb Dressel swims during a Men's 100 freestyle semifinals heat Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Katie Ledecky swims during the Women's 1500 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Katie Ledecky swims during the Women's 1500 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Katie Ledecky after the Women's 1500 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Katie Ledecky looks up after the Women's 1500 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Thomas Heilman reacts after the Men's 200 butterfly finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Thomas Heilman swims during the Men's 200 butterfly finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Luca Urlando and Thomas Heilman embraceafter the Men's 200 butterfly finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Kate Douglass, Torri Huske, Simone Manuel and Gretchen Walsh celebrate after the Women's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Simone Manuel swims during a Women's 100 freestyle semifinals heat Tuesday, June 18, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Simone Manuel is introduced before the Women's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Kate Douglass swims during the Women's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Kate Douglass and Torri Huske embrace after the Women's 100 freestyle finals Wednesday, June 19, 2024, at the US Swimming Olympic Trials in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

ENSTONE, England (AP) — Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly has signed a multiyear contract extension with the Alpine team.

Alpine said in a statement Thursday the deal “will take Pierre into the 2025 season and beyond." No further details were given.

The 28-year-old Frenchman is in his second season with Alpine. After a tough start to this campaign, he has scored points in the past three races heading into this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

He finished 11th in the drivers' standings last season, with a best finish of third place at the Netherlands GP.

“It has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team," Gasly said. "While on track it’s been a challenging season so far, I remain faithful to the project and I am not going anywhere. I am happy with the changes made, the hard work, and the direction the team is taking.”

Gasly's teammate Esteban Ocon is leaving Alpine at the end of the season. The French-owned team said it will announce “in due” course who will replace him.

Ocon and Gasly have made no secret of the fact they don't have a great relationship. The pair collided approaching the tunnel section at the Monaco GP last month, with Ocon taking responsibility for the incident and receiving a five-place grid penalty for the following race.

In March, two executives in charge of designing Alpine's new F1 car quit after a disappointing performance at the season-opening Bahrain GP.

Alpine is reportedly interesting in signing Carlos Sainz to replace Ocon after the Spaniard lost his seat with Ferrari with seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes to join the Italian team next year.

Gasly has entered 140 races and has four podium finishes, including victory at the Italian GP in 2020, when he held off then-McLaren driver Sainz in the closing laps.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Alpine driver Pierre Gasly of France waves during the drivers parade ahead of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix, Shanghai, China, on April 21, 2024. Formula One driver Pierre Gasly has signed a multi-year deal contract extension with the Alpine team. (AP Photo, File)