Carmel teen Alex Shackell continues to shine at U.S. Olympic swim trials

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

David Bois
| Special for IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS — A night after Regan Smith broke a world record in swimming, a Carmel teenager was trying to chase her.

Alex Shackell won a 200-meter butterfly semifinal in 2:06.10 Wednesday night 5 of the U.S. Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium. She will head into Thursday night's final as the second seed behind Smith.

The first two will go to the Paris Olympics.

Shackell, 17, broke the 17-18 national record of 2:06.39 set by Smith in 2020. Shackell's time moved her to No. 7 on the U.S. all-time list.

That would have been fast enough for a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships and a gold medal at the Worlds in February.

Learn more about Alex Shackell: The Olympic medal eluded his father, but Carmel's swimming siblings can reach the Paris podium

In the 200 butterfly, Smith won a silver medal at the 2021 Olympics and a bronze medal at the 2023 world championships.

Smith, on pace to set an American record in the 100 meters, won the first semifinal in 2:04.91 to set a national championships record. She set an American record of 2:03.87 last year. Emma Sticklen was second in 2:07.44.

Kelly Pash, also of Carmel, was 11^th overall in 2:09.96 and did not place in the top eight for the final.

Hours after Smith reclaimed the world record in the 100 backstroke, she was beaten in a heat of the 200 fly by Shackell. The Carmel teen clocked 2:06.71. Smith finished second in 2:07.24.

Shackell's previous best was 2:07.13 from March. She provisionally qualified for the Olympic team in the 4×200 freestyle relay by finishing sixth in the 200 freestyle Monday night.

Carmel coach Chris Plumb said Shackell focused on the 200 butterfly during trials.

In Saturday's 100m butterfly, she lowered her best time twice, to 57.07 in the heats and to 56.78 in the semifinals. She was ranked fourth going into the final, but had to focus on the 200 freestyle. The top three in the 100 butterfly final were all under 56 seconds, confirming that the scratch was a wise decision.

Shackell's brother Aaron, 19, made the team by winning the 400 free on Saturday Night 1. The Shackells' father, Nick, represented Great Britain at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

Lina Portman

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