Gretchen Walsh Clocks 55.91 100 IM, #3 Swim All-Time, Breaks World Cup & U.S. Open Records

2025 SWIMMING WORLD CUP – CARMEL

• October 10-12, 2025
• Carmel, Indiana
• SCM (25 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results

Women’s 100m IM – Final

• World Record: 55.11 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)
• World Junior Record: 57.59 – Anastasiya Shkurdai, BLR (2020)
• World Cup Record: 56.51 – Katinka Hosszu, HUN (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 55.98 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2024)

Final:

1. Gretchen Walsh (USA) — 55.91 *World Cup and U.S. Open Record*
2. Kate Douglass (USA) — 56.34
3. Roos Vanotterdijk (BEL) — 57.44
4. Anastasia Gorbenko (ISR) — 58.06
5. Rebecca Meder (RSA) — 58.26
6. Marrit Steenbergen (NED) — 58.51
7. Alex Walsh (CLB) — 58.58
8. Phoebe Bacon (CLB) — 58.82

Gretchen Walsh took the short-course meters world by storm last year, powering to a historic performance at the 2024 Short Course World Championships where she won five individual gold medals, two relay gold medals, and broke a total of nine world records.

So, given that she’s the world record holder in the 100 IM, it was strange to not see her name next to the overall World Cup record. But remember–Walsh wasn’t on the World Cup circuit last season, as she was beginning her final season at Virginia.

Tonight, Walsh earned the win in the 100 IM in her first World Cup final as a professional swimmer, checking in with a time of 55.91. That’s faster than any other swimmer has ever been and marks the third-fastest performance in event history, with Walsh now owning the top five times all-time. The swim also represents a new World Cup record and U.S. Open record, overtaking Katinka Hosszu‘s 56.51 World Cup mark from 2017 and Walsh’s own 55.98 U.S. Open mark from last October.

Walsh led from start to finish, opening in 25.12 to lead the field Belgium’s Roos Vanotterdijk by 0.78 seconds. While that appears to be under her own world record pace, the touchpad didn’t register at the halfway mark in her world record swim—she was somewhere in the 24-high range though the official time given was 25.38. She closed in 30.79 over the second 50 tonight, her second-fastest final 50 split ever.

Split Comparison, Walsh’s Sub-56 Swims

Behind her, fellow American Kate Douglass popped a 56.34 in her second swim of the session after winning the 200 breast in a U.S. Open record time. It’s a lifetime best for her, eclipsing the 56.49 she swam to win silver behind Walsh at Worlds last December and improving her standing as the second-fastest swimmer all-time.

Vanotterdijk rounded out the podium in 57.44, breaking her own national record of 57.73 as the only other swimmer to crack 58 seconds.

All-Time Top Performances, Women’s 100 IM (SCM)

1. Gretchen Walsh (USA), 55.11 – 2024
2. Gretchen Walsh (USA), 55.71 – 2024
3. Gretchen Walsh (USA), 55.91 — 2025
4. Gretchen Walsh (USA), 55.98 – 2024
5. Gretchen Walsh (USA), 56.06 – 2024
6. Kate Douglass (USA), 56.34 — 2025
7. Kate Douglass (USA), 56.49 – 2024
8. Katinka Hosszu (HUN), 56.51 – 2017

Race Video