OMAHA — Through the first four days, the United States Olympic trials had not produced the anticipated surge of times that would knock the rest of the world off its feet. In the first 13 events contested, only Katie Ledecky, in the women’s 400-meter freestyle, and Lilly King, in the 100 breaststroke, had produced world-best times.
The men’s 200 breaststroke final led off the fifth day of competition at CenturyLink Center, and it might have seemed an unlikely event to buck the trend. The 11 top performances in history included only one American, Eric Shanteau, who is retired.