SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which swimmer they believe will be the one to take down Sarah Sjostrom‘s longstanding 100 free world record:
Question: Who will be the first woman to break Sarah Sjostrom‘s 100 free world record of 51.71?
RESULTS
- Marrit Steenbergen – 37.2%
- Anna Moesch – 35.3%
- Mollie O’Callaghan – 11.8%
- Gretchen Walsh – 3.7%
- Kate Douglass – 3.0%
- Other – 2.6%
- Torri Huske – 2.5%
- Siobhan Haughey – 2.2%
- Meg Harris – 1.6%
The swimming stratosphere was shaken last week when, after we had only seen two sub-52 performances in the history of the women’s 100 freestyle, three more came down in rapid fashion.
Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom made history at the 2017 World Championships when she became the first woman sub-52 in a time of 51.71, and in the nine years since then, the only other swim under 52 seconds we’ve seen was the 51.96 produced by Australian Emma McKeon en route to winning Tokyo Olympic gold in 2021.
On Monday, May 25, Anna Moesch dropped a stunning time of 51.94 in the 100 free at the AP Race London International, breaking Simone Manuel‘s seven-year-old American Record (52.04) and becoming the second-fastest performer of all-time behind Sjostrom.
Two days later, at the Mare Nostrum Tour stop in Canet, Dutch star Marrit Steenbergen, the reigning two-time world champion in the event, promptly responded to Moesch, blasting her way to a time of 51.86, taking over the #2 spot on the all-time performers’ list.
After Steenbergen’s swim, we put out the poll: Who will be the one to break Sjostrom’s record?
Leading the way with 37.2% of votes was Steenbergen, who may have had an advantage given that she was going to get another opportunity to swim the event in short order at the final leg of the Mare Nostrum Tour in Barcelona.
The 26-year-old didn’t quite break the record, but did produce history’s fifth swim under 52 seconds in 51.97, making her the first to do so multiple times.
All-Time Performances, Women’s 100 Freestyle (LCM)
- Sarah Sjostrom (SWE), 51.71 – 2017
- Marrit Steenbergen (NED), 51.86 – 2026
- Anna Moesch (USA), 51.94 – 2026
- Emma McKeon (AUS), 51.96 – 2021
- Marrit Steenbergen (NED), 51.97 – 2026
Moesch, who incredibly has never gone 52-point in the 100 free, having skipped over the 52s when she lowered her best time from 53.25 (53.23 in the London prelims) to 51.94, closely trailed in the poll with 35.3% of votes.
Having both gone sub-52 presumably without fully tapering, Steenbergen and Moesch both have a good chance of taking out Sjostrom’s record this summer. Steenbergen will be targeting the European Championships in August, while Moesch won’t represent the U.S. at the Pan Pacific Championships since the team was selected last year, so she’ll be aiming for the U.S. National Championships, scheduled for July 28 to August 1.
That timeline gives Moesch the advantage in terms of swimming her summer championship meet first by a few weeks, allowing her to take the first rack at the 100 free world record before Steenbergen.
Ranking 3rd in the poll, and the only other swimmer earning more than 4% of votes at 11.8%, was Mollie O’Callaghan, the former world record holder in the 200 free who won back-to-back 100 free world titles in 2022 and 2023.
O’Callaghan owns a best time of 52.08, set in 2023, and though she hasn’t been under 52.5 since the Paris Olympics, she did clock 52.66 at the Australian Open in April, which is faster than she was throughout all of 2025.
That indicates she’s on good form heading into next week’s Australian Swimming Trials, where both the 100 and 200 free world records could be in her sights.
Siobhan Haughey (52.36) and Meg Harris (52.56) sit 3rd and 4th in the world rankings this season behind Steenbergen and Moesch, though they only picked up 2.2% and 1.6% of votes, respectively. Haughey is also the fifth-fastest performer in history with her best time of 52.02.
Americans Torri Huske, Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass were also featured in the poll and earned between 2.5% and 3.7% of votes. All three likely won’t swim fully tapered until Pan Pacs, and despite Huske owning the fastest PB among the three and being the reigning Olympic silver medalist, she earned fewer votes than Walsh and Douglass.
Sjostrom was not featured in the poll as the expectation is that she’s focusing on the 50 free and 50 fly events this year in her return to competition after giving birth last year. She was recently named to Sweden’s European Championship roster.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Will any women go sub-57 in the 100 back or sub-1:04 in the 100 breast in 2026?
Loading ...
ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Meg
Tori Huske 7th most likely to break 52…LOL
And regarding to the women’s 100 free, i’m very curious to see what MOC does next week. A 51 may happen finally, although her 100 still hasn’t been super great this year, but maybe a taper can produce a ridiculous drop
I think neither of these barriers get broken this year
1:04 definitely not, and i’m surprised that is even an option. Tang always seem to die at the end of the race, and Evans would need to drop a second, and in a 100m race and at this level, that is a monumental drop
57 could happen but Kaylee, at least this year, looks to be not in that top form, but i could be very wrong and only trials next week can confirm this, and Regan i don’t know, maybe yes maybe not. With Stadden i’m not expecting another half a second drop. With this one it’s really 50/50, and i’m calling that no one breaks it this year.
I’ll piss myself laughing if….
Sarah does it!!!
Mollie O’Callaghan
MOC
Idk I would have gone with Moesch. She could have broken in it London if she had even a decent finish.
Also the way she surprised herself, makes me think more is in the tank.