Gretchen Walsh Breaks Championship, American Record in 50 Free (23.02)

2024 Short Course World Championships

• December 10-15, 2024
• Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
• SCM (25m)
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Gretchen Walsh notched two more records in the heats of the 50 free at Worlds this morning, posting a time of 23.02 to take down both the championship record and American record in the event.

Walsh narrowly edged past the championship record, lowering it by just .02 as she broke the record of 23.04 set by Australia’s Emma McKeon in 2022.

She broke her own American record in the event, cruising past the time of 23.10 that she had posted just two months ago at a Virginia vs. Florida dual meet.

The 21-year-old is now tied for 3rd on the ranking of all-time top performances in the event, sharing the spot with Austria’s Nina Gangl. She sits just .09 away from the world record time of 22.93, set by the Netherlands’ Ranomi Kromowidjojo in 2017.

In typical Walsh fashion, her record-breaking performance this morning launched her into the top spot heading into the semifinals, just ahead of fellow American sprint star Kate Douglass (23.20).

Walsh now has a stockpile of records under her belt from this competition alone, having already broken six individual world records and one relay world record through the first four days of competition.