Gretchen Walsh Swims Fastest Dual Meet Times Ever in 50 Free (20.84) and 100 Fly (48.43)

North Carolina v. Virginia

• Friday, November 1st, 2024
• Koury Natatorium, Chapell Hill, NC
• SCY
• Dual Meet Format
• Live Results on Meet Mobile as “UNC vs UVA”

Gretchen Walsh continues to swim fast whenever and wherever.

Today in Chapel Hill, Walsh began her day with a swim that didn’t even make it into the headline — a 22.96 medley relay leadoff. That’s “only” the 11th-fastest performance history and “only” the 2nd-fastest dual meet swim ever, behind only Walsh’s 22.54 from last October’s Virginia vs. Texas meet.

Walsh’s next race this afternoon was the individual 50 free, an event where she’s the fastest woman ever by nearly half a second. Today she finished over a second ahead of the field with a time of 20.84. That’s tied with former teammate Kate Douglass for the 8th-fastest performance in history, and it’s the first time that anyone’s been sub-20.90 outside of a midseason invite or conference/national championship.

All-Time Top Performances, Women’s 50 Free (SCY)

1. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.37 (2024)
2. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.41 (2024)
3. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.57 (2024)
4. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.77 (2024)
5. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.79 (2023)/Maggie MacNeil, LSU – 20.79 (2023)
6. –
7. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 20.83 (2023)
8. Kate Douglass, Virginia (2022) – 20.84 / Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2024) – 20.84

Walsh’s time today isn’t quite the fastest time ever done in the fall semester, though, as her 20.79 from 2023 came at the mid-season Tennessee Invitational.

Walsh kept getting stronger as the session continued, closing out her individual races with a  48.43 in the 100 fly, which ranks as the #4 time in history, officially.**

All-Time Top Performances, Women’s 100 Fly (SCY)

1. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia — 47.42 (2024)
2. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia — 48.25 (2024)
3. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia — 48.26 (2024)
4. Gretchen Walsh, Virginia – 48.43 (2024)
5. Kate Douglass, Virginia — 48.46 (2023)

Walsh’s 100 fly time today would’ve been the fastest time ever** just nine months ago; her three faster times all came at the ACC or NCAA Championships meets earlier this year.

**Note: Walsh swam 48.30 swimming butterfly while leading off UVA’s 400 free relay at the Tennessee Invite last November. That was unofficially the fastest time ever at that point, but USA Swimming didn’t recognize it as an official butterfly time.

The meet is just about wrapped up, and we’ll have a full recap published later this evening.