6 American Swimmers Who Could Break Through in 2028

6 American Swimmers Who Could Break Through in Time for the 2028 Olympics

No swimmer under the age of 18 had qualified to represent the United States at the Olympic level for five consecutive cycles until Thomas Heilman He did it in 2024, winning the 200 butterfly and taking second in the 100 butterfly at the U.S. Olympic trials. Heilman was one of three teenagers to qualify for the men’s team this year, along with Aaron Shackell win the 400 freestyle and Luke Whitlock taking second place in the 800 freestyle.

Of the three, only Shackell matched or surpassed his Paris Trials performance by making the 400-meter final on the first day of competition. Of course, many Americans finished below their Olympic bests, as the team struggled in the medal count. The Americans won only six individual medals, and it took until the final individual race of the competition to avoid elimination from the gold medal game.

What is the outlook for the next four years and the lead-up to the Olympics in Los Angeles? The men’s team is harder to project than the women’s team, with most of the recent stars of the U.S. men’s team having made huge strides during their college years, changing the landscape of the events. However, we have a few favorites to watch.

Note that Kaii Winkler100m butterfly finalist at the Olympic Trials, could have made this list, but shortly after the trials he chose to change his sporting nationality and represent Germany at the Olympics. He was allowed to make the switch because he had not previously qualified for a major U.S. team. Winkler is expected to remain with the German team going forward.

Josh Bey

Bey became the youngest swimmer to qualify for the 200m breaststroke final at the Olympic trials by four years. He qualified seventh for the final, between a swimmer who was approaching his 30th birthday (Will Licon) and a swimmer who was already 30 years old (Nic Fink). Bey was never in contention in that final, finishing two seconds behind all other swimmers, but he gained valuable experience before heading to Australia with the Junior Pan Pacific Championships team and winning silver in the 200 breaststroke.

Bey is expected to compete for Indiana University starting in the fall of 2025, joining a program that has produced breaststroke Olympians King of Lilies, Cody Miller And Josh Mathenyand it could continue to make improvements to position itself well for 2028.

Daniel Diehl

He was best known for his backstroke sprinting skills during his high school years, but Diehl now looks like a potential star in multiple events. His decision to enroll early at NC State seems like a smart one after a strong Olympic trials in which he tied for eighth in the 200 freestyle semifinals in 1:47.00, missing the final only thanks to a stunning effort by Shackell in a swimming event, and finished sixth in the 200 backstroke.

Diehl is riding a strong showing at the trials, particularly in the freestyle events, after dropping two and a half seconds off his best time in the 200 freestyle. The versatile 18-year-old also swims a solid 200 individual medley, and he has multiple paths to making the U.S. senior team in the coming years.

Luke Ellis

The Sandpipers swimmer qualified for two distance finals at the Olympic trials, placing fifth in the 1,500 freestyle and fifth in the 800 freestyle preliminaries before withdrawing from the first heat to conserve energy for the mile. Ellis also finished 14th in the 400 freestyle and 400 medley at the trials, then posted big time gains at the Pan Pac juniors en route to a pair of medals.

In Canberra, Ellis set a meet record of 7:52.40 to win the 800 freestyle and finish with silver in the 1500 freestyle, his time of 15:00.24 leaving him less than three-tenths behind the Japanese. Kazushi ImafukuEllis will join Bey in Indiana’s incoming class next fall, and he’s part of a young group of freestylers who could gain depth over the distance behind the three-time Olympic champion. Bobby Finke.

Luka Mijatovic

Here’s another one of those potential future distance aces, with Mijatovic recently setting a national record in the 13-14 age group and beginning his quest to do the same in the 15-16 age group. After struggling at the trials, Mijatovic broke a 22-year-old NAG record en route to gold in the 400 freestyle at the Junior Pan Pacs. Mijatovic finished with three gold medals at that meet, including the 200 freestyle and the 800 freestyle relay, and he posted strong times in the distance events despite going into the opening heats as the third-fastest American.

Mijatovic may be a bit further removed from the senior level than his junior Pan Pacs teammates, but only because he’s younger and not set to graduate high school until 2027. We’ll see if he can continue to progress, but note that the 400 freestyle might be the weakest event in the country right now, while six relay spots are available in the 200 freestyle.

Will Modglin

The former national swimmer of the year had a solid freshman year at the University of Texas, but his long course performances seemed to lag behind his success in the 25-meter pool — at least until the Olympic Trials, where Modglin managed to qualify for two finals. He finished sixth in the 100 backstroke, then, after being pulled from the semifinals of the 200 IM, he earned an eighth-place finish in the semifinals to earn a second swim under the lights at Lucas Oil Stadium. Fulfilling his potential with unprecedented long course results puts him in a good position heading into the new quadrangle.

Maximus Williamson

This swimmer is perhaps the most likely to make an impact on Team USA in the years to come, and Williamson was in contention to do so heading into the Olympic Trials. Williamson struggled at the trials, explaining that an illness had robbed him of some of his energy in the weeks leading up to it, but he still came close to making the final in the 200 IM. In 2023, however, Williamson won six gold medals and a silver at the World Junior Championships, including impressive individual victories in the 100 IM freestyle and 200 IM and several relays in the under-48.

Williamson won national high school swimmer of the year honors last season as a junior at Keller High School, breaking national records in the 200 IM and 100 freestyle in the yard pool, and he and Heilman will team up at the University of Virginia starting in the fall of 2025. His 100 freestyle skills could give him a shot at a senior-level team soon.