(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Olympic swimming trials are returning to Indianapolis.
Lucas Oil Stadium will host 17 televised sessions over nine days in June 2024, a month before the Paris Olympics. USA Swimming will install three temporary pools, two 50 meters long and one 25-meter, over the Colts’ home field.
The I-U Natatorium hosted three straight Olympic trials from 1992 to 2000, but the event has been held in Omaha, Nebraska, since 2008. USA Swimming president Tim Hinchey says the organization considered bids from Omaha, Indy, and three other cities, but says holding the trials in an NFL stadium for the first time offers an opportunity to double attendance. And he says Indy’s long history of hosting sports events downtown will raise the profile of the trials. The city plans fan events at the Convention Center and along Georgia Street, similar to the festivals which have accompanied the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four.
Evansville native Lilly King, who’s won five medals at the last two Olympics, says the prospect of chasing her third Olympic team before a home crowd is an added boost.
“I always swim fast in Indy,” King says. “I almost feel a good pressure when I come here, because I don’t want to disappoint. Hopefully I’ll be able to put on a good show.”
King was one of five Indiana swimmers on last year’s Olympic team, second only to California.
As part of the event, USA Swimming and the Indiana Sports Corp plan to spend $400,000 to build pools or expand programs in underserved Indianapolis neighborhoods.
The trials will mark the 100th anniversary of Indy’s first time hosting, at the Broad Ripple Pool in 1924.
