Two Olympic rookies locked up their spots for Tokyo: teenager Torri Huske captured the women’s 100 butterfly, while Michael Andrew held on to win the men's 100 breaststroke.
Huske was under world-record pace at the turn but faded just a bit on the return leg. Still, she touched first in 55.66 seconds, breaking the national mark of 55.78 that she set the previous night in the semifinals.
The 18-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, came up short of the world record (55.48) set five years ago by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom at the Rio Games.
“I don't even know what to do,” Huske said. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. I feel like it hasn’t really sunk in. It’s really crazy.”
An even younger swimmer, 16-year-old Claire Curzan of Cary, North Carolina, took the expected second spot on the Olympic team at 56.43.
Andrew has taken an unorthodox path to the Olympic team. He turned pro at age 14 and was trained by his father in a backyard pool, using methods that stressed short bursts of sprint swimming over the grueling routine of endless laps -- a method called Ultra-Short Race-Pace Training.
It paid off in Omaha. The 22-year-old Andrew pulled ahead on the outward lap and desperately held on at the end, touching in 58.73 — a bit slower than he went while setting two American records the day before.
After just missing the Olympic team in 2016, Andrew was overcome with emotion. He sat on the lane rope and looked skyward, raising both arms. He hugged his father, mom and sister after climbing from the pool.
“It’s still hard to believe it’s real,” Andrew said. “It’s been five years in the making. Not making that team as a 17-year-old and to come back to kind of rectify that, I’m just honored and blessed."
Andrew Wilson was second, just one-hundredth of a second behind. He is also expected to make the Olympic team. Missing out was Nic Fink, who settled for third in 58.80.
Travis Pittman contributed to this report.