"World's craziest comeback?", "He fought for his life"- Fans react as Hunter Armstrong recovers to take 2nd place after trailing behind due to a slip

Hunter Armstrong survived a slip at the start of the 100m backstroke event on Day 2 of the U.S. Olympic Trials. However, the world champion still attained a podium finish, leaving his fans impressed.

Armstrong faced trouble while jumping off the wall at the beginning of the 100m backstroke semifinal, which left him behind all his competitors. He was in the eighth position at the 50-meter mark of the race. However, he pushed himself to claim the second position by clocking a time of 53.57s.

Kyle Sockwell shared the clip of his electrifying comeback on X and wrote:

"You shouldn't be able to do this, but Hunter Armstrong just did. This is one of the more ridiculous things I've ever seen in swimming."

Stunned by the comeback, one of the fans commented:

"Worlds craziest comeback????? 53.5 with that start is so impressive..."

Another follower emphasized Armstrong's strength and said:

"This needs to be shown on repeat to all backstrokers across the country... he fought for his life after slipping and got it done."

Another one of Hunter Armstrong's admirers, impressed by the swim, commented:

"That's a 52 low if he doesn't slip. My jaw was on the floor when he pull this off."

A follower of the world champion praised his skills and said:

"Literally superhuman. He has to be aquaman or something!"

Along similar lines, another user chimed in:

"Best race of the night, no debate."

Hunter Armstrong opens up about his troubled start at the 100m backstroke event

Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships - Day 17: Swimming

After cruising to a podium finish in the 100m backstroke event, Hunter Armstrong spoke about his slip at the start of the race. He said the placement of the camera led to the mishap at his start, but added that he was happy to complete the swim.

According to NBC4i.com, Armstrong said:

"I kinda knew something was off from the beginning. The camera they put on the block is right where I wanted to put my hand. So I kinda pushed it a little bit. As soon as I took my mark, the wedge moved. I'm fortunate that I was able to get the job done and I'll have a second chance tomorrow."

Armstrong also revealed his first thoughts while he was inside the water after the flip.

"I typically don't think while I'm in the water. I think the minute you become conscious when you're swimming is when you slow down. But the very first thing to go through my mind when I immediately just backflopped into the water was, how can I recover from this, because I need another shot tomorrow," he said (via Swimming World).

The U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials is a nine-day event hosted by Indiana. It kicked off on June 15 and will conclude on June 23.