By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based swimmer who has proven themselves over the past month. As with any item of recognition, Swimmer of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one athlete whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a swimmer who was visibly outperforming other swimmers over the month, or one whose accomplishments slipped through the cracks among other high-profile swims. If your favorite athlete wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
There were just four swimmers who qualified to swim three individual events in Paris at the U.S. Olympic Trials. The list includes the greatest female swimmer we’ve ever seen, Katie Ledecky, multi-time individual world champions Kate Douglass and Regan Smith, and Chris Guiliano.
Guiliano was expected to contend for an individual berth in the men’s 100 freestyle, but he wasn’t even favored to make the final in either the 50 or 200 free, coming in as the 10th and 29th seed, respectively.
However, the 21-year-old performed incredibly over the nine-day competition at Lucas Oil Stadium, kicking things off by placing 2nd to Luke Hobson in the 200 free in a time of 1:45.38, more than three seconds faster than his lifetime best entering the meet. Guiliano came in with a PB of 1:48.75, set just one month earlier, and lowered it down to 1:46.83 in the prelims.
In the 100 free, his bread and butter, Guiliano ripped a new best time of 47.25 in the semis, downing his previous mark of 47.49 set in February to qualify 1st into the final ahead of newly-minted U.S. Open Record holder Jack Alexy—who went 47.08 in the prelims—and reigning Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel.
With all the pressure on in the final, it was Guiliano who came away with the victory, clocking 47.38 to top Alexy (47.47) and Dressel (47.53) in a scorching-fast race that saw the top six finishers all under 48 seconds.
Guiliano closed the meet out by reeling off the three fastest swims of his career in the 50 free. He brought his best time down from 21.96 to 21.83 in the heats, put up a time of 21.59 in the semis, and then touched in 21.69 in the final to snag the second Olympic spot behind Dressel (21.41), edging out Matt King (21.70) and Alexy (21.76).
Guiliano’s Progression
| Event | PB Pre-Trials | Trials (Fastest) | Percentage Improvement |
| 50 free | 21.96 | 21.59 (SF) | 1.68% |
| 100 free | 47.49 | 47.25 (SF) | 0.51% |
| 200 free | 1:48.75 | 1:45.38 | 3.10% |
The rising Notre Dame senior became the first American since Matt Biondi in 1988 to qualify to represent the U.S. in the men’s 50, 100 and 200 free at the Olympics.
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Guiliano’s Olympic-qualifying performances in Indianapolis come after he got his feet wet on the international stage last year, winning bronze at the 2023 World Championships on the U.S. men’s 400 free relay while placing 18th in the 100 free.
This past season at Notre Dame, the Douglassville, Pa., native was on fire, sweeping the ACC titles in the men’s 50, 100 and 200 free before earning top-five finishes in all three events at NCAAs, leading the Fighting Irish to all-time program-best showings at both meets.
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