OMAHA – America's biggest swimming stars shined brightly on the next-to-last night of the Olympic trials.
Their only complaint? Both wanted to go a bit faster Saturday.
Caeleb Dressel added another event to his Tokyo program, powering to a dominating victory in the 100-meter butterfly.
Katie Ledecky blew away the field in the 800 freestyle, winning by more than 5 seconds in a race where the battle for second provided the only drama.
Ledecky locked up her fourth individual race at the Olympics with a time of 8 minutes, 14.62 seconds, adding to her victories in the 200, 400 and 1,500 free.
Leading right from the start, Ledecky was essentially racing herself. She started out under world-record pace but tailed off when it quickly became clear no one could beat her.
"It's challenging," she said of being so far ahead of the field. "Sometimes I feel like I'm going faster than I am."
Ledecky finished more than 10 seconds off her world-record performance at the Rio Olympics.
"It was a fine swim," she said. "I thought I'd be a lot better than that given how good my prelim swim felt."
Katie Grimes, age 15, outraced veteran Haley Anderson for the 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 Olympic team in marathon swimming, just missed out on a race at the pool. She finished 15-hundredths of a second behind the youngster after a race covering 16 laps.
"Speechless," said Grimes, who races for a club in Nevada. "I wasn't expecting that. I just wanted to finish it. I'm so honored to be in this meet, to be going to Tokyo."
In an interesting twist, Grimes is the same age as Ledecky was when she won her first Olympic gold with a surprising victory in the 800 free at the 2012 London Olympics.
"To be able to be on the team with her," Grimes said, "is gonna be awesome."
As with Ledecky, 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.
No world records have been set through the first seven days of the U.S. trials. Dressel thought he had a shot in the fly.
"I would've liked to have been faster to put on a little bit of a show for the crowd," he said.
No complaints, though.
"This meet has gone as according to plan as it could have," he said.
Tom Shields claimed the 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 4x100 medley relay.
Dressel, who had 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 shot at joining 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 claimed six golds and two silvers, though two of those were in non-Olympic events.
He said there's room for improvement in the 100 fly.
"I was a little too excited coming home," he said. "I was a little sloppy at the end."
With Phelps now retired, the burden is on Dressel and Ledecky to step up at these pandemic-delayed Olympics.
Another shot for Becker
Former Gophers swimmer Bowe Becker made the finals in a second event at the trials, swimming the fourth-fastest time in Saturday's semifinals of the men's 50-meter freestyle to give himself another chance of making the Olympic team.
Becker, a Las Vegas native who concluded his Gophers career in 2019, finished in 21.83 seconds. Caeleb Dressel's 21.51 was the fastest time of the semis, followed by Michael Andrew (21.55) and Nathan Adrian (21.78). The top eight will race in the final Sunday night.
Becker remains in contention for a spot in the relay pool for the Tokyo Games after finishing fifth in the men's 100 free Thursday. The top four in that race automatically made the Olympic team, and the fifth- and sixth-place finishers could be added if roster spots remain. His chances depend on whether men who have already qualified in other events also make the team in the two final races Sunday, the 50 free and 1,500 free.
Rachel Blount
Spain included two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol in its 18-man preliminary Olympic squad.
Gasol was among the players called up by coach Sergio Scariolo to prepare for the Tokyo Games. Twelve will make the final squad.
Gasol is trying to play in his fifth Olympics. He was included after overcoming a long injury layoff and a successful return to Barcelona this season. He will turn 41 before the games open on July 23.
Gasol's brother, Marc, of the Los Angeles Lakers, also made the list, as did Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio. Both were key for Spain when it won the world championship two years ago in China. A total of eight world champions are on the preliminary list.
Other names in the squad include Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez, Alex Abrines, Sergio Llull and newcomer Usman Garuba, who is projected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft in July.
Siblings Juancho and Willy Hernangomez also were included. Rubio and Juancho Hernangomez are Wolves teammates. Willy Hernangomez played this season for the New Orleans Pelicans.
The team will begin its preparations on Friday in Madrid.
Spain is a three-time silver medalist at the Olympics. It won the bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The U.S. men are seeking a fourth consecutive gold medal.
Kenyan stars miss out
Olympic steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto and world 1,500-meter titleholder Timothy Cheruiyot missed out on Kenya's provisional team for the Tokyo Games as the national trials ended on Saturday.
Kipruto, who is also a two-time world champion, dropped out of the steeplechase after two laps at Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi. Cheruiyot faded on the home straight to finish fourth in the 1,500 and limped away to a medical tent. They could both still make the Olympics if Kenya chooses to select them as wild cards.
Running in a cloud
Brianna McNeal, the defending Olympic champion in the 100-meter hurdles, has been hit with a doping ban that places her future in jeopardy. But McNeal had a place on the starting line at the Olympic trials Saturday, where she won in her qualifying heat, even though she has been found guilty of a doping-rules violation.
McNeal is not accused of actually using a performance-enhancing drug. Instead, she is accused of "tampering within the results management process," a charge related to a so-called whereabouts violation.
Every Olympic hopeful has the responsibility to fill out logs detailing where they'll be at all times of day and to make themselves available for unannounced testing at any given moment. The third time athletes aren't where they say they'll be when a tester shows up triggers a violation.
