Daniel Boone grad Chris Guiliano finished second in the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming nationals at Indianapolis on Tuesday to earn a spot in the upcoming world championships.
Guiliano, a rising junior at Notre Dame, finished in a personal-best 47.98, getting touched out by Jack Alexy (47.93). Matt King was third in 47.99 and Destin Lasco fourth in 48.00.
“I’m here, and I don’t want this to ever go away, like any time soon,” Guiliano said, according to the Indianapolis Star. “I’m ready for what comes next.”
Guiliano came into the meet seeded 22nd at 49.17. He set a personal best with a 48.17 in Tuesday morning’s prelims to qualify seventh for the final.
Swimming out of Lane 1 in the final, he was sixth after 50 meters at 22.94 before surging up to second.
“I just believed in myself,” Guiliano said. “I knew what I could do, I knew I had a great training cycle, and coming to Indy I knew I had a great shot. This has been a dream come true, but there’s more to work towards.”
He not only earned a spot for worlds in the 100 free, but also as part of the United States’ 4×100 relay.
Guiliano is the fifth man to go under 48 seconds in the 100 free for the first time at this meet.
“Before this meet, I didn’t break 49,” Guiliano said. “Getting in the 47s, it just feels great.”
Caeleb Dressel, who won the 100 free two years ago at the Tokyo Olympics, finished 29th in his first major competition since 2022. Brooks Curry, also a recent Olympian and the 2022 NCAA champion, did not qualify for the A final. He placed ninth.
The world championships will be held July 14-30 at Fukuoka, Japan.
Guiliano competed in the 200 free preliminaries on Wednesday. He placed 30th at 1:49.64 and did not advance. He came in seeded 39th.
He also is entered in the 50 free (seeded 22nd), which is Saturday.
He is the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion in the 200-yard free, and holds Notre Dame school records in the 200-yard and 200-meter free events. He already has earned a berth to next year’s U.S. Olympic Trials.
