The 2026 Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis is heating up, with some of the world's best swimmers taking to the pool. The second day of preliminaries saw some impressive performances, with a few surprises along the way. The highlight of the morning was undoubtedly Gretchen Walsh's debut in the 100 fly, where she dominated the field with her blistering 54.33 time from the Fort Lauderdale Open. Walsh, the fastest woman ever in the event, was joined by her training partner Claire Curzan in the last heat, but she kept an eye on the competition, which included Torri Huske and Alex Shackell. The men's 100 fly also saw a world record holder make their first appearance since the Fort Lauderdale Open, with Caeleb Dressel taking on the challenge. Dressel, the second seed, had to keep an eye on Thomas Heilman's results from the previous heat, as well as those of Ilya Kharun and Dare Rose from the last heat, if he wanted to earn the top seed in the final. The 200 breaststroke saw Kate Douglass return to the pool after winning the 200 IM the previous night. Douglass, the top seed by a wide margin, should comfortably make the final with little effort. While representing the New York Athletic Club, Douglass trains at UVA, a program that could nearly fill the final, as Alex Walsh, Katie Christopherson, Sophia Umstead, Leah Hayes, and Emma Weber are all well-positioned to make a run to the final. It may be up to 50 breaststroke winner Eneli Jefimova to break up the Cavalier dominance in the event. Indiana, too, holds a stranglehold on the event with Josh Matheny, Josh Bey, Alexei Avakov, Noah Cakir, and Toby Barnett all seeded in the last three heats, but Matheny, the top seed, will be under some pressure as Ben Delmar of North Carolina and Denis Petrashov of Cardinal Aquatics are seeded right behind him. The 50 backstroke saw Katharine Berkoff, last night's runner-up in the 100 back and 2025 World Champion, lead the field and have fond memories of this pool, as she set the American record in it last year at Nationals. Similar to the 100 yesterday, the 50 back is back and forth between NC State, UVA, and Wisconsin as Berkoff and her teammates, Leah Shackley, Erika Pelaez, and Rhyan White will look to hold off the charges of Claire Curzan, Gretchen Walsh, and Isabelle Stadden of UVA and those of Phoebe Bacon and Maggie Wanezek of Wisconsin. NC State sits atop the field in the men's event as well with Quintin McCarty and Aiden Hayes occupying the top two seeds. Joining them near the top of the field are their teammates Daniel Diehl and Gavin Keogh. Looking to knock them out of the top spots is Adam Chaney, last night's 3rd place finisher in the 100 back, and, of course, Ryan Murphy, the winner in the 100 last night. The 400 IM heats will see the top 16 swimmers compete for both the men and women, with the rest of the field following behind. Olympic medalists Katie Grimes and Emma Weyant headline the field and have been the dominant pair in the event, but the field is full of young swimmers who will be looking to challenge their dominance, especially with Texas commit Audrey Derivaux in the field. She's not the lone teenager in the field, as Sydney Schoeck, Teagan O'Dell, and Emerson Callis are all well-placed to earn a spot in the final. In the men's race, Bobby Finke, who will have the 1500 final tonight, is well-placed to easily make the final, coming in as the top seed by exactly four seconds. Behind him, however, it'll be a tight battle as Michael Hochwalt, Tristan Jankovics, Lorne Wigginton, and Dominik Mark Torok all jostle for position. The top 8 includes a mix of established stars and rising talents, with Adam Chaney, Aiden Hayes, Alex Shackell, Alex Walsh, Bobby Finke, Caeleb Dressel, Claire Curzan, and Daniel Diehl among the top seeds. The 2026 Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis is shaping up to be an exciting event, with some of the world's best swimmers taking on the challenges of the pool. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the competition unfolds, with some surprises and upsets along the way.
