U.S. Olympic swim trials in Omaha to allow 50% capacity

Amanda Weir, Lia Neal, Katrina Konopka, Madison Kennedy and Abbey Weitzeil of the United States dive in to compete in the final heat for the Women’s 50 Meter Freestyle during Day Eight of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at CenturyLink Center on July 3, 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

by: Associated Press

Posted: Apr 6, 2021 / 08:03 AM PDT

Updated: Apr 6, 2021 / 08:03 AM PDT

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

The U.S. Olympic swimming trials will allow about 50% capacity for the June competition in Omaha, Nebraska.

A temporary pool will be installed at the CHI Health Center arena, which is to host the trials for the fourth straight time.

The arena near downtown Omaha normally seats about 14,000 for swimming, but that will be cut in half to mitigate the potential spread of the coronavirus.

Since more than 90% of tickets were sold for the trials in their original date in 2020, USA Swimming plans a complete refund. An entirely new sale will begin April 16.

The governing body already took the unprecedented step of dividing the trials into two parts. Lower-ranked swimmers will compete June 4-7. The top finishers from that group advance to the second part June 13-20, which will feature the country’s top-ranked swimmers and leading medal contenders for the Tokyo Games.

USA Swimming split the meet to lessen the number of competitors and support personnel on the main pool desk and practice facilities.