From 2:14 to 2:07: Ellen Walshe Continues 200 Fly Rise By Resetting Her Own National Record

2025 World Championships

• July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
• Singapore, Singapore
• World Aquatics Championships Arena
• LCM (50m)
• Meet Central
• How To Watch
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• Entry Book
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – SEMIFINALS

• World Record: 2:01.81, Liu Zige (CHN) – 2009
• World Junior Record: 2:03.03, Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2024
• Championship Record: 2:01.81, Liu Zige (CHN) – 2009
• 2023 World Champion: Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2:04.06
• 2024 Olympic Champion: Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2:03.03

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Elizabeth Dekkers (AUS), 2:06.13
2. Summer McIntosh (CAN), 2:06.22
3. Regan Smith (USA), 2:06.96
4. Ellen Walshe (IRL), 2:07.48
5. Emily Richards (GBR), 2:07.71
6. Caroline Bricker (USA), 2:07.86
7. Helena Rosendahl Bach (DEN), 2:07.92
8. Yu Zidi (CHN), 2:07.95

Ellen Walshe of Ireland continued her impressive World Championships campaign tonight in Singapore, smashing her own national record in the women’s 200 butterfly semifinals.

The 23-year-old logged 2:07.48 for 3rd in semifinal two, breaking her previous record of 2:08.42 from this past March at the Leinster Aspiring Champions Meet in Dublin. Her time held up for the 4th-quickest of the evening heading into tomorrow’s final.

Walshe was 6th at the halfway mark, moved up to 5th at the 150, before charging home on the final length for 3rd in her heat.

When she set her previous record in March, she split 29.44/32.95/34.11/31.92. Tonight, she produced splits of 28.94/32.37/33.31/32.86, going out much faster than her record swim.

At the 100, she was 1:01.31 tonight compared to 1:02.39 in Dublin. She hit the 150 turn in 1:34.62 compared to 1:36.50 in Dublin, almost two seconds under record pace with one length remaining.

While taking it out quicker prevented her from closing sub-32, she still managed 32.86 on the final 50, the second-quickest split of all 16 competitors in tonight’s semifinals, only behind heavy favorite Summer McIntosh‘s 32.64.

When Walshe first set the record in March, she sliced over a second off Michelle Smith‘s longstanding national record of 2:09.91 from the 1996 Olympics.

Prior to that breakthrough, Walshe held a career-best of 2:14.15 from over five years ago at the 2020 Flanders Swimming Cup.

Earlier this, Walshe set a new Irish national record of 2:10.49 in the 200 IM semifinals before touching 8th in 2:11.57 in the final. She is also set to compete in the 400 IM later this week as the #6 seed. She made the Olympic final in that event last summer, finishing 8th.

Walshe is best known for her 400 IM performance at the 2021 Short Course Worlds, where she grabbed silver with her current best time of 4:26.52. In that race, she went 1-2 with her training partner at the time, Canada’s Tessa Cieplucha, who won gold in 4:25.55.

Walshe holds five individual and one relay long course meters (LCM) Irish National Records. These include the 200 free, 100 fly, and 400 IM, and she was a member of the country’s record-setting women’s 4×100 medley relay.

Walshe’s individual Irish records:

• LCM 100 fly – 57.96, 2023
• LCM 200 fly – 2:07.42, 2025
• LCM 200 free — 1:58.88, 2025
• LCM 200 IM – 2:10.49, 2025
• LCM 400 IM – 4:35.32, 2025
• SCM 50 fly – 25.45, 2024
• SCM 100 fly – 55.50, 2024
• SCM 100 IM – 58.55, 2024
• SCM 200 IM – 2:05.52, 2024
• SCM 400 IM – 4:26.52, 2021