INDIANAPOLIS — Chris Guiliano walked out of a tunnel from under the glowing, 75-foot “blockwalk” screen. Across it flashed his name in red bubble letters with a life-size, full-body motion graphic of his person captured over the weekend during media availability. Around 20,000 people were watching. The location is Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts. The meet is the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. The event is the 200 meter freestyle.
The latter fact is perhaps the most notable. For months now, Guiliano had been shattering Notre Dame records and taking down a few ACC records, too. The rising senior from outside of Philadelphia specializes in the sprint freestyle events and had long been qualified to make his way to Indy this summer. The 100 freestyle is considered his bread-and-butter after he went a blazing 40.62 at the 2024 ACC Championships in the yards event and followed that with a 47.49 in the 100 meter time trial, the second-fastest time in the world this year.
But on this night, there was no 100 freestyle. Just the 200. Commentators had spent the week discussing that while Guiliano had a real shot at making Team USA in the 100 — he entered the meet as the No. 2 overall seed — the 200 was more of a warm up. He was seeded 29th in that. Prep for the 100, if you will. That’s not to say Guiliano is not faster in the event than the vast majority of the nation. But folks figured Wednesday night’s 100 freestyle final would punch Guiliano’s ticket to Paris.
He thought otherwise.
Donning a black cap with that recognizable, shining, interlocked “ND,” Guiliano dove in for the 200 freestyle final from Lane 1, traditionally the spot given to the seventh-fastest swimmer in an eight-lane pool. Being anything but forgettable from those outskirts is cause for excitement. It’s often dubbed “outside smoke.” When it is worth talking about, that is.
He was out to a quick start, leading the field with a 50.77 split at the halfway mark. His feet hit the wall first after what seemed to be a casual flip. That was to be expected. He’s a 100 freestyler, after all. You go out fast.
A collection of his teammates stood in the stands after making the 150-mile trip down from South Bend. His coaches stood near the corner of the pool waiting to see if once again, the five-time ACC champion could make something magical happen as he had several times over the last calendar year. The noise in the first-ever NFL stadium to host a swim meet grew closer and closer to deafening.
Guiliano didn’t let up. On paper, the middle lanes would’ve pulled ahead of him. They were the higher seeds after trumping Guiliano in the prelims and semifinals of the event. They gained a bit of ground, but it was Guiliano that hung in there.
25 meters left. 15 meters left. 5 meters left.
Guiliano touched the wall in a blazing 1:45.38, nearly 3 seconds faster than his seed time entering the meet. He took second place in the final.
“Coming into this meet, I didn’t really know what to expect from the [200 free],” Guiliano said in a post-race press conference with an ear-to-ear grin. “But the more I swim the event, the more I get used to it. Throughout the course of this year, I wasn’t going crazy times in-season or anything. But I was figuring out different ways to swim it and execute.”
With the finish, his ticket is punched for Team USA. For the first time in Notre Dame men’s varsity swimming history.
“Coming to the University of Notre Dame was something I always wanted to do,” Guiliano said. “I wanted to cement my legacy at such a special place. I’m excited to represent it, and I hope I represent it well.”
Guiliano will still swim that 100 freestyle on Wednesday night after qualifying for the final on Tuesday evening. He is the top seed in the event, bringing a lifetime best of 47.25 with him. He will aim to win it all in a heat of Olympians like two-timer Caeleb Dressel, a win that would automatically seal a spot in the 100 in Paris. Should he finish second, he will get an individual spot in that event as well. A top-four finish would put him on the 400 freestyle relay across the pond.
That place he finishes matters to him. If he didn’t care, he likely wouldn’t have made it to this point. Regardless, his future plans are locked in.
He’ll see you in Paris.