Ellen Walshe Resets Irish Record in the 200 Butterfly (2:02.36) for the 3rd Time in 3 Weeks

2025 WORLD AQUATICS SWIMMING WORLD CUP – Toronto

For the third time in 3 weeks, Ellen Walshe has reset her own Irish National Record in the 200 butterfly.

In tonight’s final, Walshe posted a time of 2:02.36 to finish as the runner-up to American Regan Smith in the event, with Smith touching 1st in 2:00.34 to complete the triple crown in the event.

Top 8 Finishers

  1. Regan Smith (USA)- 2:00.34
  2. Ellen Walshe (IRL)- 2:02.36
  3. Mary-Sophie Harvey (CAN)- 2:03.73
  4. Brittany Castelluzzo (AUS)- 2:05.43
  5. Emily Richards (GBR)- 2:05.96
  6. Bella Grant (AUS)- 2:06.52
  7. Laura Lahtinen (FIN)- 2:9873
  8. Maria-Thenoi Karagiannis (CLB)- 2:14.05

While Walshe didn’t come away with a gold medal, her time marked a massive drop over her week-old Irish Record set at the Westmont World Cup stop last weekend. In Westmont, Walshe posted a time of 2:04.38, making this a two second improvement. Impressively, her performance in Westmont was also a large improvement on her own National Record and personal best, as Walshe started the season in Carmel with a 2:05.07.

Splits Comparison:

2025 – World Cup, Carmel Stop 2025 – World Cup, Westmont Stop
2025 — World Cup, Toronto Stop
50 28.66 28.49 28.21
100 1:00.75 (32.09) 1:00.55 (32.06) 59.51 (31.30)
150 1:32.82 (32.07) 1:33.26 (32.71) 1:31.17 (31.66)
200 2:05.07 (32.25) 2:04.38 (31.12) 2:02.36 (31.19)

Compared to last week’s swim, Walshe was significantly faster on both the 2nd and 3rd 50, with her 2nd 50 coming in .7 faster and her 3rd 50 registering over a full second faster. Despite these splits being significantly faster, Walshe lost little speed on her closing 50, as she was only .07 slower than she was in Westmont.

Prior to Walshe setting the Irish Record in Carmel, the previous record stood at 2:07.04 set by Michelle Smith back in 1997. Until Walshe set the new mark, Smith’s record was Ireland’s oldest National Record on the books.

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dave
7 months ago

NZLs Cameron Gray did the same in 50m freestyle for 6=

About Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller

Nicole has been with SwimSwam since April 2020, as both a reporter and social media contributor. Prior to joining the SwimSwam platform, Nicole also managed a successful Instagram platform, amassing over 20,000 followers. A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Biotechnology, she was also a …

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