1st edition 28 – 31 Oct 2026 Westmont, Illinois 25m pool 40 Team USA spots

USA Short Course Worlds Trials 2026

Q: When and where are the 2026 Short Course Worlds?

1 to 6 December 2026 at the National Aquatics Centre in Beijing, China.

USA Swimming schedule, Team USA selection rules, swimmers to watch, results and the road to Beijing

Everything on USA Swimming’s first-ever Short Course World Championship Trials in one place: the full four-day schedule with times for every US time zone, exactly how the 40-swimmer team is picked, every star in the field, tickets, how to watch, and a results tracker that fills in as each final is swum.

See full schedule How selection works

iSportsLeague · Updated 25 October 2026

First race: Wed 28 Oct · 6:00 PM ET · 5:00 PM CT · 3:00 PM PT Daily prelims 10 AM CT · finals 6 PM CT Team named: Sat 31 Oct

Days of racing

Sessions

Events

Team spots

Days from trials to Worlds

USA Short Course Worlds Trials 2026 quick facts

Official name	2026 USA Swimming Short Course World Championship Trials
Dates	Wednesday 28 – Saturday 31 October 2026
Venue	FMC Natatorium at Ty Warner Park, Westmont, Illinois
Course	Short course metres (25m), the same as Worlds
Organiser	USA Swimming
Format	Prelims and finals; distance events as timed finals
Field size	About 350–400 swimmers
Team size	Up to 40: 20 women and 20 men
Selects for	World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), Beijing, 1–6 December 2026
Edition	First ever; previous US short course teams were picked on long course times

Key dates on the road to Beijing

Date	Milestone	Status
22 Jan 2026	USA Swimming announces the first short course trials meet	Done
Aug 2026	Trials time standards and event order published	Done
21 Sep 2026	Tickets go on sale at the FMC Natatorium	Done
20 Oct 2026	Entry deadline	Done
22 Oct 2026	Pre-scratch psych sheets released	Done
28–31 Oct 2026	Short Course Worlds Trials, Westmont	Next
31 Oct 2026	Team USA roster for Beijing confirmed	Upcoming
27–30 Nov 2026	Official training in Beijing	Upcoming
1–6 Dec 2026	Short Course World Championships, Beijing	Upcoming

What are the Short Course Worlds Trials, and why are they new?

The Short Course World Championship Trials is the meet USA Swimming now uses to pick its team for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m), the global title meet swum in a 25-metre pool. USA Swimming announced the meet in January 2026 as the selection route for Beijing.

Until now, the US never held a short course trials. Instead it invited swimmers based on their best long course (50m) times. That approach left out swimmers who are at their best in the shorter pool. The most cited example came in 2021, when Coleman Stewart was left off the team even though he held the short course world record in the men’s 100m backstroke, because two other swimmers had faster long course times.

Racing for places in a 25m pool fixes that, and it brings the US in line with how most other countries pick their short course teams. It also matters for American swimmers more broadly: the US college and club system races mostly in short course pools, so short course specialists now have a direct path to a world championship team.

Why this year’s meet is special: It is the only senior trials meet on the US calendar in 2026. The Pan Pacific Championships team was picked from 2025 results, so this is the first time this year that America’s top swimmers race each other with a team on the line.

Short Course Worlds Trials 2026 schedule, day by day

Racing opens with a distance session on Wednesday evening. Thursday to Saturday follow a prelims-and-finals pattern. W means women, M means men, and events without a tag are swum by both. All times are Central Time (local).

Wed 28 Oct Finals 5:00 PM

1500m FreestyleW
800m FreestyleM

Watch for: Katie McCarthy, the only entrant in the women’s 1500m, needs the ‘B’ time of 16:37.32 to make the team.

Thu 29 Oct Prelims 10 AM · Finals 6 PM

100m ButterflyM
50m BackstrokeW
200m BackstrokeM
200m BreaststrokeW
100m BreaststrokeM
400m FreestyleW
50m FreestyleW+M
200m ButterflyW
400m FreestyleM
100m Individual MedleyW+M

Watch for: Dressel, Kharun, Rose and Urlando in the men’s 100 fly; Walsh in the 50 free and 100 IM, two of her world record events.

Fri 30 Oct Prelims 10 AM · Finals 6 PM

400m Individual MedleyM
100m BackstrokeW
50m BackstrokeM
200m Individual MedleyW
1500m FreestyleM
200m FreestyleW
100m FreestyleM
50m ButterflyW
200m ButterflyM
100m BreaststrokeW
50m BreaststrokeM

Watch for: Regan Smith and a deep women’s 100 back field; Douglass in the 200 IM; three relay places on offer in the men’s 100 free.

Sat 31 Oct Prelims 10 AM · Finals 6 PM

200m BreaststrokeM
50m BreaststrokeW
200m Individual MedleyM
400m Individual MedleyW
800m FreestyleW
50m ButterflyM
100m ButterflyW
100m BackstrokeM
200m BackstrokeW
200m FreestyleM
100m FreestyleW

Watch for: Walsh in the 100 fly, then the women’s 100 free to close the meet. The full team is set once this final ends.

The 800m and 1500m freestyle are swum as timed finals: there are no prelims, and places are decided on time across all heats.

Session times in every US time zone

Westmont, near Chicago, is on Central Time. Finals start at 7 PM on the East Coast and 4 PM on the West Coast, so every final is live in prime time or the afternoon across the country.

Session	Central (local)	Eastern	Mountain	Pacific
Wed 28 Oct distance finals	5:00 PM	6:00 PM	4:00 PM	3:00 PM
Thu 29 Oct prelims	10:00 AM	11:00 AM	9:00 AM	8:00 AM
Thu 29 Oct finals	6:00 PM	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	4:00 PM
Fri 30 Oct prelims	10:00 AM	11:00 AM	9:00 AM	8:00 AM
Fri 30 Oct finals	6:00 PM	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	4:00 PM
Sat 31 Oct prelims	10:00 AM	11:00 AM	9:00 AM	8:00 AM
Sat 31 Oct finals	6:00 PM	7:00 PM	5:00 PM	4:00 PM

How the Team USA roster is selected

The simple rule: finish top two and hit the international qualifying time. Because the roster is capped at 40 swimmers (20 per gender), USA Swimming fills spots in a strict priority order.

1
Top two in the 100m and 200m freestyle. These come first because they make up the freestyle relays.
2
The winner of every other individual event.
3
The runner-up in every other individual event. If this pushes a gender over 20, runners-up are ranked by how close their time is to the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard (as a percentage), and the closest go in first.
4
Third place in the 100m freestyle, for relay depth.
5
Third place in the 200m freestyle, for relay depth.

The ‘A’ and ‘B’ time rule

Both of the top two in an event make the team only if both have swum the World Aquatics ‘A’ standard.

If the winner has only the ‘B’ standard, the winner is selected but the runner-up is not.

A swimmer who wins several events counts once against the 20-swimmer cap, which can open spots further down the priority list.

USA Swimming’s selection procedures list further priorities beyond these five; the official document is linked on the USA Swimming meet page.

Qualifying times and entries

To enter, swimmers needed a trials qualifying time swum between 1 June 2025 and the entry deadline of Tuesday 20 October 2026. USA Swimming set standards in all three courses, so swimmers could qualify in a short course yards, short course metres or long course metres pool. There are separate standards for swimmers aged 18 and under and 19 and over.

The meet was designed for roughly 350 to 400 athletes, about half the size of US Nationals. That keeps prelims fast and the finals packed with genuine contenders.

Swimmers to watch at the trials

The psych sheet is loaded with Olympic champions. Here is who matters and what they are entered in.

Women

Gretchen Walsh 4 WRs

50/100 free · 50/100 fly · 100 IM

The biggest name in short course swimming. At the 2024 Worlds she won seven golds and broke 11 world records. She broke her own 50 free world record again this month.

Kate Douglass 3 WRs

50/100 free · 50 fly · 100/200 breast · 100/200 IM

Entered in seven events, the most of any star. Holds the short course world records in the 100 free, 200 breast and 200 IM. Trains alongside Walsh at Virginia.

Regan Smith 3 WRs

Backstroke

Holds every short course backstroke world record: 50m, 100m and 200m. The favourite in every backstroke final.

Simone Manuel

50/100/200 free

Olympic champion who has never swum at a Short Course Worlds. A top-three 100 free finish would put her on the relay.

Torri Huske

50/100/200 free · 50/100 fly · 200 IM

Individual Olympic champion and another star yet to race at a Short Course Worlds.

Alex Walsh

50/100/200 breast · 200/400 IM

Olympic medallist with a wide programme across breaststroke and medley.

Men

Caeleb Dressel

50/100 free · 50/100 fly · 100 IM

The Olympic champion is chasing his first Short Course Worlds team. His 100 fly clash on day two is the race of the meet.

Ilya Kharun

50 free · 50/100/200 fly

Racing his first meet as a USA Swimming member after switching from Canada. Chasing his first US team.

Jack Alexy

50/100/200 free

America’s leading 100 freestyler, central to the US relays in Beijing.

Luca Urlando

100 back · 100 fly and more

The 2025 world champion adds another contender to a stacked butterfly field.

Van Mathias

50 free · 50/100 breast · 50 fly

The breakout American swimmer of 2026, with a sprint programme across three strokes.

Luke Hobson

Freestyle

Olympic medallist and one of the leading US middle-distance freestylers.

Also in the field: Katharine Berkoff, Claire Weinstein (back after missing Pan Pacs through illness), Claire Curzan, Phoebe Bacon, Isabelle Stadden, Lucy Bell, Anna Peplowski, Rylee Erisman, Liberty Clark, Alex Shackell, Destin Lasco, Kieran Smith, Grant House, Brooks Curry, Michael Andrew, Dare Rose, Gabriel Jett and Chris Guiliano. Olympians Breeja Larson and Molly Hannis return at 34, and Olivia Smoliga races in her home pool.

Not entered: Katie Ledecky.

Psych sheet: top seeds in every event

The psych sheet ranks swimmers by their entry time. Here are the top three seeds in all 36 events, listed in race order.

Key takeaways: Ilya Kharun is the top seed in all three butterfly events, including the 100 fly where he is 1.5 seconds ahead of Caeleb Dressel on paper. Jack Alexy leads the 50 and 100 free. Kate Douglass is top seed in four events and Gretchen Walsh in four. Regan Smith is seeded first in the 200 fly as well as both longer backstroke events. Several distance and IM fields are very small, so a time standard may matter more than a placing there.

#	Event	Top seed	2nd seed	3rd seed
Wednesday 28 October
1	Women 1500 free	Katie McCarthy 16:29.15L	Only entrant	–
2	Men 800 free	Leon Barbieri Alcantara INT 7:37.47	Ryan Erisman 7:43.53L	Luke Brennan 8:02.69L
Thursday 29 October
3	Men 100 fly	Ilya Kharun 48.35	Caeleb Dressel 49.86	Dare Rose 50.70L
4	Women 50 back	Katharine Berkoff 25.43	Isabelle Stadden 25.91	Olivia Smoliga 26.41
5	Men 200 back	Owen McDonald 1:52.78	Jack Dahlgren 1:53.62	David Gerchik INT 1:54.79
6	Women 200 breast	Kate Douglass 2:13.45	Alex Walsh 2:17.88	Maddy Huggins 2:26.42L
7	Men 100 breast	Van Mathias 56.72	Brian Benzing 57.33	Chris O’Grady 58.01
8	Women 400 free	Anna Peplowski 4:00.14	Chloe Stepanek 4:07.02	Joanna Evans INT 4:08.17
9	Women 50 free	Gretchen Walsh 22.75	Kate Douglass 22.94	Kalia Antoniou INT 23.99
10	Men 50 free	Jack Alexy 20.70	Ilya Kharun 20.72	Chris Guiliano 20.83
11	Women 200 fly	Regan Smith 2:00.20	Alex Shackell 2:02.51	Rachel Klinker 2:08.59L
12	Men 400 free	Kieran Smith 3:37.28	Leon Barbieri Alcantara INT 3:37.46	Luke Hobson 3:38.90
13	Women 100 IM	Gretchen Walsh 55.77	Kate Douglass 56.34	Phoebe Bacon 58.29
14	Men 100 IM	Grant House 51.07	Caeleb Dressel 51.98	Brian Benzing 52.22
Friday 30 October
15	Men 400 IM	Ryan Erisman 4:09.57L	Noah Cakir 4:13.28L	Josh Bey 4:14.10L
16	Women 100 back	Regan Smith 54.02	Katharine Berkoff 55.07	Isabelle Stadden 56.16
17	Men 50 back	Lamar Taylor INT 23.41	Grant Bochenski 23.70	Adam Chaney 24.75L
18	Women 200 IM	Kate Douglass 2:02.76	Alex Walsh 2:04.01	Phoebe Bacon 2:07.42
19	Men 1500 free	Levi Sandidge 14:58.40	Ryan Erisman 14:59.30L	Luke Brennan 15:24.30L
20	Women 200 free	Anna Peplowski 1:52.54	Chloe Stepanek 1:56.09	Joanna Evans INT 1:56.28
21	Men 100 free	Jack Alexy 45.32	Chris Guiliano 45.50	Sergio De Celis INT 46.19
22	Women 50 fly	Gretchen Walsh 23.72	Phoebe Bacon 25.38	Alex Shackell 25.51
23	Men 200 fly	Ilya Kharun 1:48.46	Gabriel Jett 1:51.01	Mitchell Schott 1:51.10
24	Women 100 breast	Kate Douglass 1:02.90	Alex Walsh 1:04.34	Skyler Smith 1:05.17
25	Men 50 breast	Finn Brooks 25.75	Van Mathias 26.02	Brian Benzing 26.31
Saturday 31 October
26	Men 200 breast	Daniel Marinov INT 2:08.74	Chris O’Grady 2:10.01	Josh Bey 2:07.58L
27	Women 50 breast	Skyler Smith 29.72	Alex Walsh 30.05	Molly Hannis 30.29
28	Men 200 IM	Kieran Smith 1:53.59	Owen McDonald 1:55.61	Maximus Williamson 1:56.40L
29	Women 400 IM	Alex Walsh 4:27.12	Katie McCarthy 4:43.28L	Lainey Mullins 4:46.79
30	Women 800 free	Claire Weinstein 8:19.67L	Katie McCarthy 8:33.94L	Zoe Nordmann 9:44.60Y
31	Men 50 fly	Ilya Kharun 21.69	Finn Brooks 22.09	Caeleb Dressel 22.67
32	Women 100 fly	Gretchen Walsh 53.04	Alex Shackell 55.78	Lillie Nordmann 58.22
33	Men 100 back	Grant Bochenski 51.18	Owen McDonald 51.96	Jack Dahlgren 52.01
34	Women 200 back	Regan Smith 1:57.86	Isabelle Stadden 2:00.55	Phoebe Bacon 2:00.80
35	Men 200 free	Luke Hobson 1:39.94	Chris Guiliano 1:40.19	Grant House 1:41.52
36	Women 100 free	Kate Douglass 49.93	Gretchen Walsh 50.32	Kalia Antoniou INT 52.70

How to read the times: plain times are short course metre entries. L means the swimmer entered with a long course time and Y a short course yards time; these are seeded after short course metre entries. INT marks international swimmers, who race at the meet but cannot be selected for Team USA.

Smallest fields: women’s 1500 free (1 entrant), women’s 800 free (3), men’s 1500 free (4), men’s 400 IM (6), women’s 400 IM (7) and women’s 200 back (7).

Short course world record holders in the field

Three American women entered in Westmont hold ten short course world records between them.

Swimmer	Short course world records held	Racing that event here?
Gretchen Walsh	50 free, 50 fly, 100 fly, 100 IM	Yes, all four
Kate Douglass	100 free, 200 breast, 200 IM	Yes, all three
Regan Smith	50 back, 100 back, 200 back	Backstroke entries

Douglass set her 100m freestyle world record in this same pool at the October 2025 World Cup stop.

Favourites by event

Our picks based on world records and entries. These are predictions, not results; the results tracker below will show what actually happened.

Event	Favourite	Main challengers
Women’s 50 free	Gretchen Walsh	Douglass, Manuel
Women’s 100 free	Kate Douglass	G. Walsh, Manuel
Women’s 100 fly	Gretchen Walsh	Open field for second
Women’s 100 IM	Gretchen Walsh	Douglass
Women’s 200 IM	Kate Douglass	A. Walsh
Women’s 200 breast	Kate Douglass	A. Walsh
Women’s backstroke (50/100/200)	Regan Smith	Berkoff, Smoliga, Bacon, Stadden
Women’s 200 fly	Regan Smith	Alex Shackell
Men’s 100 fly	Ilya Kharun (top seed)	Dressel, Rose, Urlando
Men’s 50 free	Toss-up	Dressel, Alexy, Kharun, Mathias
Men’s 100 free	Jack Alexy	Dressel, Curry

How to watch the Short Course Worlds Trials

USA Swimming streams its national meets on its own platforms, and team schedules for this meet point fans to the USA Swimming YouTube channel. At recent meets in this pool, every session streamed on the USA Swimming Network, with selected finals shown live on Peacock in the US.

Update pending: Peacock coverage for these trials had not been confirmed when this guide was updated. We will add the confirmed broadcast schedule here as soon as it is announced.

Platform	What it shows	Cost
USA Swimming YouTube	Live sessions and replays	Free
USA Swimming Network	All prelims and finals at recent national meets	Check USA Swimming
Peacock	Selected finals at recent meets; trials coverage to be confirmed	Subscription

Tickets, venue and travel

Tickets are sold by the FMC Natatorium and went on sale on 21 September. The all-meet pass is the best value, saving $20 over buying every session separately.

Best value

$70

Event pass: all 7 sessions

Evening

$15

Any single finals session

Morning

$10

Any single prelims session

How to buy

Go to the FMC Natatorium website and open the Short Course World Championship Trials 2026 event page.
Choose the event pass or the single sessions you want.
Check out online, or call the box office on 630-537-1188 with questions.

Address	275 Plaza Dr., Westmont, IL 60559
Location	About 20 miles west of downtown Chicago
Pool	Myrtha pool, spectator seating on three sides
In the stands	Second-level countertop viewing, concession stand and swim shop
Host hotel	Oak Brook Hills Resort
Box office	630-537-1188

Results tracker

Winners and selected swimmers will be added here after each finals session. Day-by-day results pages will be linked from this page.

Day	Finals	Winners	Status
Wed 28 Oct	Distance (800m, 1500m)	To be added	Upcoming
Thu 29 Oct	12 finals	To be added	Upcoming
Fri 30 Oct	11 finals	To be added	Upcoming
Sat 31 Oct	11 finals	To be added	Upcoming
Sat 31 Oct	Team USA roster for Beijing	To be added	Upcoming

Short course vs long course: what’s the difference?

	Short course (SCM)	Long course (LCM)
Pool length	25 metres	50 metres
Turns in a 100m race	3	1
Speed	Faster, thanks to more push-offs and underwater kicking	Slower; more pure swimming
World records	Kept separately	Kept separately
Main championships	Short Course Worlds, World Cup	Olympics, World Championships, Pan Pacs

What’s next: Short Course Worlds in Beijing

The team picked in Westmont races at the 2026 World Aquatics Swimming Championships (25m) from 1 to 6 December at Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre, the “Water Cube” where Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympics. Official training runs 27–30 November, giving the US team about four weeks between trials and Worlds.

Heats	10:00 AM Beijing (9:00 PM ET · 6:00 PM PT the previous evening)
Semis and finals	7:00 PM Beijing (6:00 AM ET · 3:00 AM PT); 6:00 PM Beijing on the last day
New for 2026	10-lane semi-finals and finals in events of 400m and shorter, trialled by World Aquatics
Prize money	Over $2 million: $10,000 for gold, $8,000 silver, $7,000 bronze, down to $2,000 for eighth
World record bonus	$25,000 per record
Double Crown bonus	$15,000 for winning an event at all three World Cup stops and at Worlds

The last edition, in Budapest in 2024, saw 30 world records over six days. Gretchen Walsh earned close to $300,000 there once her record bonuses were added.

Short Course Worlds Trials by year

This page is the permanent home of the US Short Course Worlds Trials. Each new edition, with its results and team, will be added here.

Year	Dates	Venue	Selected for
2026	28–31 Oct	FMC Natatorium, Westmont, IL	SC Worlds Beijing, 1–6 Dec (first trials ever)
Next	TBA	TBA	Next Short Course World Championships

More Short Course Worlds Trials coverage

Coming soonHow to watch: TV and live stream

Coming soonPsych sheet and top seeds

Coming soonSelection rules explained

28 OctDay 1 results

29 OctDay 2 results

30 OctDay 3 results

31 OctDay 4 results

31 OctTeam USA roster for Beijing

NovemberShort Course Worlds 2026 guide

iSportsLeague take

This meet changes how America builds its short course team, and the timing makes it fascinating. With Pan Pacs picked from 2025 results, Westmont is the first time this season that the stars race each other for places.

The women’s team looks settled at the top, with Walsh, Douglass and Smith holding ten world records between them. The drama is on the men’s side, where the 100 fly has four genuine contenders for two spots, and in the third-place 100 free races, where relay spots can come down to hundredths.

Watch for one more storyline: Dressel, Huske and Manuel have all won Olympic gold, yet none has ever swum a Short Course Worlds.

USA Short Course Worlds Trials FAQs

When are the 2026 Short Course Worlds Trials?

Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 October 2026 at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois.

Is this the first Short Course Worlds Trials?

Yes. 2026 is the first time USA Swimming has held a trials meet for its Short Course World Championships team. Earlier teams were picked using long course times.

How many swimmers make Team USA?

Up to 40: 20 women and 20 men. The top two in each event qualify if both have the ‘A’ standard, plus extra 100m and 200m freestylers for relays.

What happens if the winner doesn’t have the ‘A’ time?

A winner with only the ‘B’ standard is still selected, but the runner-up in that event is not.

What time do the finals start?

Finals start at 7 PM ET (6 PM CT, 4 PM PT) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Prelims start at 11 AM ET, and Wednesday’s distance session starts at 6 PM ET.

Where can I watch the trials?

On USA Swimming’s streaming platforms, including its YouTube channel. Peacock has shown selected sessions from earlier meets at this pool; confirmed coverage will be added here.

How much are tickets?

$70 for an all-meet pass, $15 for a finals session and $10 for a prelims session, sold through the FMC Natatorium.

Is Katie Ledecky swimming at the trials?

No. Ledecky is not entered.

Has Caeleb Dressel swum at a Short Course Worlds before?

No. Dressel, Torri Huske and Simone Manuel have never competed at a Short Course World Championships.

When and where are the 2026 Short Course Worlds?

1 to 6 December 2026 at the National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube) in Beijing, China.

Is there prize money at Short Course Worlds?

Yes. Over $2 million in total, with $10,000 for each individual title and $25,000 for each world record.

Schedules and broadcast details can change; this guide is updated as official information is released.

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