Ohio State sophomore Hunter Armstrong placed second in the 100-meter backstroke finals at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State Department of Athletics

Ohio State sophomore Hunter Armstrong placed second in the 100-meter backstroke finals with a time of 52.48 seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday.  

The northeastern Ohio native was seeded seventh going into trials with a time of 53.69 for the event. During the trials, Armstrong dropped his time by 1.02 seconds, swimming a 52.67 in the  semifinals Monday. Armstrong is expected to make the 2021 U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Tokyo late July — however it will not be official until the team is announced Saturday.  

Armstrong is now the fifth-fastest American in this event all-time. 

Off the turn at the 50-meter mark, Armstrong was seventh out of the eight-man race. He swam the fastest second half of the race with a 26.75 to finish 0.15 seconds behind the 2016 gold medalist in the event and 200-meter backstroke Ryan Murphy. 

During the race, Armstrong passed Michael Andrew — an American swimmer who went pro at age 14 and set then broke his own record in the 100-meter breaststroke the night before — and Matt Grevers — London 2012 gold medalist and Beijing 2008 silver medalist in the event — on the back half of the race.

Armstrong is also swimming the 100-meter freestyle Wednesday seeded 36th with a time of 49.74, and the 50-meter freestyle Saturday seeded 35th with a 22.57 — up against American record holder in both events Caleb Dressel and three-time Olympian Nathan Adrian. 

If he makes the 2021 U.S. Olympic team, Armstrong will be the first Ohio State swimmer to compete as a member of Team USA in the Olympics since Kimberly Black in the 2000 Sydney games and first men’s swimmer since 1956, according to university archives. 

This story was updated Wednesday, June 16 at 7:06 p.m. with information regarding the history of Ohio State swimmers in the Olympics.