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Several athletes lit up the pool at the Toyota U.S. Championships, making significant strides towards the Paris Olympics in 2024 with their remarkable performances and new records.

Gretchen Walsh stole the spotlight by breaking the American record in the 50m butterfly for the fourth time in five weeks. Touching the wall in 24.66 seconds in Indianapolis, Walsh slashed her previous record of 24.93 set on May 2. By winning the event, she secured her spot in the World Championships in Singapore this July and August. Walsh now trails only Swede Sarah Sjöström, who holds the world record at 24.43 seconds. Remarkably, Walsh has set or tied 26 American records over the past year across various distances and strokes.

On the men's side, Luke Hobson captured attention with his incredible performance in the 200m freestyle, clocking in at 1:43.73. This achievement places Hobson as the second-fastest American ever in the event, following only Michael Phelps. Globally, he stands fifth, with his time marking the quickest ever recorded in a U.S. pool, surpassing Phelps' time from the 2008 Olympic Trials.

Young prodigy Luka Mijatovic also made headlines by posting the fastest ever 200m freestyle time for a 16-year-old, recording 1:45.92 in the prelims. This impressive feat eclipsed the national age group record previously set for 17- and 18-year-olds by Michael Phelps. Although Mijatovic ultimately finished eighth in the final, his performance marks him as a rising star to watch.

In the women's 200m freestyle, Claire Weinstein swam the world’s fastest time this year, finishing in 1:55.92 and narrowly defeating Katie Ledecky by 0.34 seconds. Despite her stellar performance, Ledecky has stated she does not plan to compete in the 200m free at the upcoming World Championships but will participate in the 4x200m free relay.

Additional noteworthy performances included Claire Curzan's personal best in the 200m backstroke, where she edged out American record holder Regan Smith by 75 hundredths of a second. Curzan had previously swept the backstroke events at the February 2024 World Championships but narrowly missed the Olympic team for Paris by seven hundredths. Jack Aikins also shined in the men's 200m backstroke, setting a personal best of 1:54.25, which would have won him the 2024 Olympic gold by one hundredth had it been swum at the Games.

Kate Douglass, the Olympic champion, added to the excitement by winning the 200m breaststroke by a second over her former University of Virginia teammate Alex Walsh, the older sister of record-breaker Gretchen Walsh.

These stunning performances not only spotlight the outstanding talent gearing up for the Paris 2024 Olympics but also herald a new era of American swimming dominance on the world stage.