Bel Air swimmer Chase Kalisz edged in 400 IM at U.S. Olympic Trials but should get a chance to defend gold in Paris

INDIANAPOLIS — The first final of the night produced a first-time Olympian.

Carson Foster knocked off Tokyo gold medalist Chase Kalisz in the final of the 400-meter individual medley Sunday at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

But Kalisz, a Bel Air native and Fallston High School graduate, should get a chance to defend his gold in Paris, taking the runner-up spot to claim the expected second American slot.

Jay Litherland, the 400 IM silver medalist in Tokyo, missed out on his third Olympics with a third-place showing.

The 22-year-old Foster, a native of Cincinnati who competes for the University of Texas, led the entire race to finish in 4 minutes, 7.64 seconds. He appeared on the verge of tears as Kalisz reached over the lane rope to give him a hug, knowing how much this meant to the winner.

At the 2021 trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Foster was the top seed coming out of the preliminaries, only to get chased down by both Kalisz and Litherland in the final.

The third-place finish cost Foster a trip to the Tokyo Games. When the Americans went 1-2 at the Olympics, the missed opportunity hurt even more.

“As much as I’ve grown, there was still a fear because of what happened three years ago,” Foster conceded.

But, as he stepped to the block, with Kalisz on one side and Litherland on the other, a newfound confidence swept over Foster.

“I’ve struggled to stay in my lane in the past,” he said, speaking metaphorically. “The first thing that would go wrong, it was lights out for me. I’ve battled those inner negative voices. But tonight was different. I stayed in my own lane. I think I was smiling the whole last 50.”

Kalisz, a former club mate of Michael Phelps at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, closed to within a tenth of a second on the breaststroke leg, but the 30-year-old simply didn’t have enough in the tank to keep up with the younger Foster. The winner pulled away on the freestyle, with Kalisz touching in 4:09.39.

Litherland faded at the end for a time of 4:12.34.

Happy Father’s Day for Fink

Nic Fink, whose wife is expecting a child, made it quite a Father’s Day by winning the 100-meter breaststroke.

Looking into the stands toward Melanie Margolis Fink — herself a gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Games — the 30-year-old made a rocking motion.

Clearly, Nic Fink’s mind was on more than just a gold of his own.

Fink will be heading to his second Olympics after touching first in 59.08. He held off Charlie Swanson, who secured the expected second spot for Paris in 59.16.

“That’s a win for me,” Fink said, “but it’s really a win for everybody in my life.”

A life that will soon have a new addition.

Walsh follows world record with 1st Olympic berth

Gretchen Walsh followed up a world record in the 100-meter butterfly with something that felt just as good.

Her first trip to the Olympics.

Walsh didn’t go quite as fast as a night earlier in the semifinals, but she touched in 55.31 seconds to claim the coveted Olympic berth against a loaded field.

“I was definitely nervous,” Walsh said. “There were a lot of what-ifs. Coming off breaking the world record, I was thinking, ‘Do I need to do that again just to make the team? What if I get third? What’s that even even going to look like?’”

No worries. She’s heading to Paris.

Facing three medalists from the Tokyo Games, Walsh knew she had her work cut out for her — even after setting a world record in the semifinals with a time of 55.18 that broke the mark held by Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström since the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Following the same strategy, Walsh went out strong again in the final and was under her world-record pace at the turn.

Then, it was a matter of hanging on for the 21-year-old native of Nashville, Tennessee, who swims for the University of Virginia.

She finished with the second-fastest time in history, while Torri Huske grabbed the second Olympic spot with a time of 55.52 that made her the third-fastest woman in swimming history.

“I couldn’t ask for a better start to the meet,” Walsh said.

Regan Smith became the fourth-fastest female ever at 55.62 — but the third-place showing wasn’t enough to get her to Paris on the powerhouse American team. She’ll have more chances later in the meet to claim her spot.