Noblesville teen finishes 2nd to gold medalist in 800 freestyle at USA Swimming Trials
INDIANAPOLIS -- It wasn’t long ago that Luke Whitlock had such an undistinguished resume that he couldn’t make a winter junior nationals cut. And 1,000 swimmers a year manage that.
Now Whitlock, an 18-year-old from Noblesville, is the youngest athlete on a U.S. Olympic men’s swim team since 2000. Moreover, he is chasing Olympic gold medalist Bobby Finke.
“I saw his feet get away from me a little bit in the middle of the race,” Whitlock said. “The last 50, I saw his feet again.”
Finke won the 800-meter freestyle in 7:44.22 Tuesday on Night 4 of the Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium. Clipping at those feet was the upstart Hoosier.
“I saw Luke coming, trying to run me down a bit,” Finke said. “I was trying to get my composure and just kind of swim into the wall.”
Whitclock’s time was 7:45.19, breaking a 17-18 age-group record of 7:48.09 set by Larsen Jensen at the 2003 World Championships. Whitlock was just off the world junior record of 7:43.37 set by Lorenzo Galossi of Italy in 2022.
Whitlock became a record sixth swimmer out of Indiana to be an Olympian, breaking the mark of five from 2021. Before that, the record was four in 1976.
Moreover, he became Noblesville’s second Olympian, following diver David Boudia, a four-time medalist.
Swimming World called Whitlock a “feel-good surprise” of the trials. SwimSwam editor Braden Keith tweeted:
“Nobody closes on Finke. Finke closes on people!”
Whitlock was 15th in the 500-yard freestyle as a Noblesville High School freshman in 2021. He reasoned he was better at longer distances, joined Fishers Area Swimming Tigers, and has thrived in training up to 70,000 meters (44 miles) a week.
It has all been a surprise to his parents, who remember a 5-year-old refusing to put his head in the water or getting past Level 1 swim lessons. There are photographs of Whitlock, now 5-foot-11, standing next to swimmers nearly a foot taller.
“He’s had this fire inside of him that when he first came to us, he had a hard time managing,” said Joe Keller, coach of the Fishers club. “He’s grown and changed that to be productive. People’s greatest weaknesses can become their greatest strength.”
The breakthrough for Whitlock came when he finished fifth in the 800 freestyle in last September’s World Junior Championships at Netanya, Israel, in 7:55.50 -- five seconds out of the medals but a six-second personal best.
In a matter of months, he had dropped 14 seconds. Now he has dropped 10 more.
Keller was “pretty bold,” telling anyone who would listen that another swimmer would have to go under 7:45 to beat the teen. That’s what happened.
“We had like everything planned out like a month and a half before it,” Whitlock said. “I was just really confident with the work I’ve been putting in, and I knew I could execute it.”
He was able to practice in the stadium pool in days preceding the trials. Keller said he often jokes with him at meets but this night the teen was “dialed in.”
Whitlock signaled his fitness when had the fastest time in heats of the 400 freestyle Saturday and finished fifth in the final. He had never been under 3:50 until May 17, and through 400 meters of Tuesday’s final, he was at 3:50.38 ... with another 400 meters to swim.
“It was really a beautiful race, just out a hair quick,” Keller said. “The first thing he said to me was: ‘I can go faster.’“
Indiana swimmers previously making the Olympic team were Drew Kibler and siblings Drew and Alex Shackell, all of Carmel; Lilly King, Evansville; Blake Pieroni, Chesterton.
Indiana University already has four Olympic swimmers: King, Pieroni, Anna Peplowski and Mariah Denigan (in open water). IU could add a fifth Wednesday in the 200 breaststroke, in which Josh Matheny had the No. 3 time of 2:08.79 in semifinals.
Carmel swimmers struggle
It was a rough day for Carmel swimmers:
>> Aaron Shackell, first in the 400 freestyle and eighth in the 200 free, was 41st in heats of the 200 butterfly in 2:00.97. He was seeded seventh.
>> Kayla Han, fourth in the 400 freestyle, was 27th in heats of the 1,500 freestyle in 16:47.50. She was seeded eighth in 16:16.94.
>> Alex Shackell, sixth in the 200 freestyle, scratched out of the 100 free. She was seeded 11th at 54.08, and it took 54.72 for semifinals. She has prelims of the 200 butterfly Wednesday.
>> In semifinals of the 100 freestyle, Kibler was 15th in 48.90. He was third in the 200 freestyle Monday to secure a spot on the team.
Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Noblesville teen finishes 2nd to gold medalist at USA Swimming Trials
