OMAHA, Neb. — The stars shined brightly on the next-to-last night of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.
Caeleb Dressel added another event to his Tokyo program, powering to a dominating victory in the 100-meter butterfly Saturday.
Katie Ledecky blew away the field in the 800 freestyle, winning by more than 5 seconds in a race where the runner-up spot provided the only drama.
Ledecky locked up her fourth individual race at the Olympics with a time of 8 minutes, 14.62, adding to her victories in the 200, 400 and 1,500 free.
Fifteen-year-old Katie Grimes outraced veteran Haley Anderson for the expected second spot at the Olympics, knocking more than 11 seconds off her personal best to touch second in 8:20.36.
Anderson, who already made the team in marathon swimming, just missed out on a race at the Olympic pool. She finished third, 15-hundredths of a second behind the youngster.
No one was even close to Dressel as he finished the fly in 49.87 — just off his world record of 49.50 set two years ago at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
Tom Shields claimed the expected second spot on the U.S. team by touching next in 51.19. Shields was an Olympian in 2016, taking gold as part of the 4×100 medley relay.
Dressel, who already made the Olympic team with a victory in the 100 freestyle, made it 2-for-2 on the night when he returned a short time later to win his heat in the semifinals of the 50 free.
Dressel is hoping to swim three individuals events in Tokyo and perhaps all four relays, giving him a chance to join Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi as the only swimmers to win seven swimming medals at the Olympics.
At the last world championships, Dressel became only the second swimmer after Phelps to win eight medals at a major international competition.
The 24-year-old Floridian captured six gold medals and two silvers, though two of those were in non-Olympic events.
With Phelps now retired, Dressel and Ledecky are expected to join ie Ledecky as the biggest American swimming stars at the Olympics.
There was a surprise in the women’s 200 backstroke. Favorite Regan Smith, who has already won the 100 back, faded to third in the longer race to miss out on a second individual event in Tokyo.
Rhyan White took the victory in 2:05.73, with Phoebe Bacon claiming the likely second spot in 2:06.46.
Smith finished third in 2:06.79, more than 3 seconds off her personal best.