USA Swimming celebrates record-breaking attendance at historic Olympic Trials

Carmel’s Chris Plumb named assistant, Whitlock takes third in 1500

The REPORTER

USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of swimming in the United States, achieved a significant milestone and garnered international attention by breaking multiple attendance records at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming presented by Lilly. On June 15, the meet welcomed a record-breaking 20,689 attendees at Lucas Oil Stadium, making it the largest gathering for a swim meet in history. The following day, 17,697 fans set a new mark for the most-attended prelims session in swimming history. The momentum continued throughout the week, and last Wednesday (June 22), fans pushed the record even higher, with a staggering 22,209 in attendance.

Across all sessions, the meet welcomed over 285,000 fans, more than a 60 percent increase from the previous total attendance record at Swimming Olympic Trials. Record attendance at the Toyota Aqua Zone and USA Swimming Live presented by Purdue University fan experiences and record retail sales added highlights to the nine-day event in Indianapolis. The Indiana Sport Corp was instrumental in transforming the city and galvanizing volunteers to execute this historic event.

“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 Tim Hinchey III, USA Swimming President and CEO. “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 historic Olympic Trials kicked off on June 15, the first swim meet in an NFL stadium. The Trials offered a unique experience for USA Swimming’s passionate and loyal fanbase, growing the sport and boosting its exposure. Nine nights of prime-time coverage on NBC added broad exposure to the sport and set the stage for incredible athlete performances in the pool, where they set multiple world and American records.

The venue also showcased a first-of-its-kind 70′ tall vertical digital board for athlete entrances and unique new premium hospitality options for fans, donors, and VIPs. Years of planning, design, preparation, and construction brought Hinchey’s vision to life, creating an atmosphere usually reserved for premier professional sports. USA Swimming plans to build on its achievements in Indianapolis as it prepares for success in the pool in Paris.

Plumb named assistant Olympic coach

Carmel Swim Club head coach Chris Plumb has been named as one of the assistant coaches to the U.S. Olympic team.

Plumb has been the CEO and head coach of the club since 2006. He has also served as the Carmel High School head coach during that time; every single Greyhounds girls team that Plumb coached has won an IHSAA state championship, part of a national record 38 consecutive titles. Plumb has also coached the Carmel boys team to its current streak of 10 consecutive state championships.

Led by men’s head coach Anthony Nesty (University of Florida) and women’s head coach Todd DeSorbo (University of Virginia), the other assistant coaches are Carol Capitani (University of Texas), David Durden (University of California – Berkeley), Braden Holloway (North Caroline State University), Chris Lindauer (University of Notre Dame) and Greg Meehan (Stanford University).

“Choosing the assistant coaches, we looked to create an environment for competitive success, based on talent, trust, and team,” said Lindsay Mintenko, Managing Director of the National Team.

“Anthony (Nesty) and I have been discussing potential assistant coach options with staff dynamics in mind for two years. We had such a great experience in Budapest at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships with staff and team performance – we were looking to emulate that again,” said DeSorbo. “The staff we have put together is a group of people we trust, and we are confident in their ability to coach a variety of athletes to success. They will provide a great day-to-day environment and energy for the team to thrive. We look forward to spending the next five weeks with this group of talented coaches and great people.”

Whitlock finishes third in 1500

Noblesville’s Luke Whitlock, swimming for Fishers Area Swimming Tigers, placed third in the finals of the Men’s 1500 freestyle, the closing event of the Olympic Trials last Sunday.

Whitlock clocked in at 14 minutes, 53 seconds, just behind second place David Johnston, who finished in 14:52.74. The top two swimmers qualify for the Olympic team in that event; Robert Finke won the race in 14:40.28.

Earlier in the trials, Whitlock made the team in the Men’s 800 freestyle. He finished second in that event with a time of 7:45.19.