2016 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS

Two days are down in Omaha at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, and Michael Phelps will finally get in for his first race of the meet with the 200 fly prelims.

Phelps scratched the 200 free prelims yesterday morning, making the 200 fly his first race. He’s the top seed, and will be swimming out of lane four in heat nine. Club Wolverine’s Kyle Whitaker and SwimMAC’s Tyler Clary will flank Phelps in that heat, though Jack Conger is the favorite to get a top two spot with Phelps in the final. Conger is in lane four, just one heat before Phelps.

The women’s 200 free, which will feature a blockbuster matchup between Katie Ledecky, Missy Franklin, and Allison Schmitt, also has prelims this morning. They’re the top three seeds, so they’ll be in lane four for the last three heats– Schmitt in heat nine, Franklin in heat ten, and Ledecky in heat eleven.

Leah Smith, who was stellar in her 4:00 400 free last night, is actually looking like a sneak pick to join Ledecky in the 200 free top two if Schmitt and Franklin swim as lackluster as they did last night. Smith is in lane five in the last heat, right next to Ledecky.

The third and final prelims event is the women’s 200 IM, which will feature 400 IM champion Maya Dirado from night one. Ella Eastin, who was off of her best in the 400 IM, will try to bounce back and make a claim for a top two spot in the 200 IM, arguably her better race. She’ll be in the final heat next to Dirado, with 400 IM 3rd-place finisher Bethany Galat also in that heat.