Next month, 13 athletes with ties to the Carmel Swim Club will compete in the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Indianapolis, and the community sent them off in style with a rally held May 10 at Carter Green.

An antique firetruck transported the seven athletes in attendance from Carmel High School to the event, where they introduced themselves to the crowd and received a gift from the City of Carmel to remind them of their support back home.

Carmel High School has dominated boys and girls swimming at the state level for many years, but it didn’t send any swimmers to the Olympics until 2021 when Jake Mitchell and Drew Kibler made Team USA.

Carmel Swim Club coach Chris Plumb said Carmel only produced one Olympic Trials qualifier between 1973 and 2003 but that it has sent 41 swimmers to the Trials since then.

“We knew with all the state championships we can do so much more than just win state championships. We can have the Olympic dream, and that is why we’re here today, to celebrate that,” Plumb said during the send-off ceremony. “These (athletes) show us that you can dream bigger than just trying to make the high school state team. You can dream big to try and make the Olympic swim team.”

Athletes from Carmel competing in the Olympic trials are:

Berit Berglund (100 BK)
Lynsey Bowen (200, 400, 800 FR; 200 FL)
Ellie Clarke (200 BK)
Wyatt Davis (100, 200 BK)
Gregg Enoch (400 FR; 200 FL; 200, 400 IM)
Kayla Han (400, 800, 1500 FR, 400 IM)
Drew Kibler (50, 100, 200, 400 FR)
Jake Mitchell (200, 400 FR; 200 BK)
Kelly Pash (50, 100, 200 FR; 100, 200 FL; 200 IM)
Aaron Shackell (100, 200, 400, 800 FR; 100, 200 FL)
Alex Shackell (100, 200 FR; 100, 200 FL; 200 IM)
Sean Sullivan (200 IM)
Molly Sweeney (100, 200 BR; 200 IM)

The Olympic swimming trials will take place June 15 to 23 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Sarah Myer, chief of staff and strategy for the Indiana Sports Corp., said the event is set to be “the largest Olympic trials in the world, ever.” She said the legacy of swimming in Carmel is “absolutely incredible” and that it helped the Hoosier state land the event.

“When they picked Indianapolis to host this, they told us that it’s because of the swim communities we have in Indiana,” Myer told the crowd. “I want to call that out, because it’s your community, and a community like Carmel, that helped us get this once-in-a-lifetime event.”

Tickets to the Olympic swimming trials are available at am.ticketmaster.com/indianasportscorp/buy.