2024 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
- December 10-15, 2024
- Duna Arena, Budapest, Hungary
- SCM (25m)
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American swimmer Kate Douglass is scratching the 50 fly at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, leaving her teammate Gretchen Walsh as the only American entry in the event.
Douglass entered the meet as the top seed with an entry time of 24.42, which she swam at the finale of the World Cup in Singapore in November. That time left her just .04 seconds shy of Therese Alshammar’s legendary World Record in the event and made her the #2 performer in the history of the event.
Douglass retains entries in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 breast, 100 IM, and 200 IM for the meet. Her coaches hinted at a possible withdrawal from that race because it conflicts directly with other races – namely a direct overlap with the 200 IM (where she is also the top seed) and the 400 free relay.
USA Swimming doesn’t select swimmers on the basis of 50 meter events and after 100 fly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pulled out of the meet, no other members of the U.S. roster were eligible for the 50 fly, so Douglass’ late withdrawal doesn’t impact anybody else’s event choice.
This scratch doesn’t mean that Douglass will have an ‘easy’ run. Presuming she swims all relays 400-meters-and-under, and doesn’t swim on the heats of any of those relays, this is what Douglass’ schedule would project out as for the meet:
Kate Douglass‘ Schedule, 2024 Short Course World Swimming Championships
| Prelims | Finals | |
| Day 1 | 200 IM H |
200 IM F, 400 free relay F
|
| Day 2 | 100 Free H |
100 Free SF, 200 Mixed Medley F
|
| Day 3 | 100 IM H |
100 Free F, 100 IM SF
|
| Day 4 | 200 Breast H |
200 Breast F, 100 IM F, Mixed 200 Free Relay F
|
| Day 5 | 50 Free H |
50 Free SF, Mixed 400 Medley Relay F
|
| Day 6 |
50 Free F, Women’s 400 Medley Relay F
|
The other American entry Gretchen Walsh is entered at 25.20, which is her fastest time in the qualifying period, but that is actually a long course split and is her halfway split from the 100 meter fly final at the U.S. Olympic Trials over the summer. That makes her the favorite in this race.
Top 8 Seeds, 2024 Short Course World Swimming Championships
- Beryl Gastaldello, France – 24.76
- Alexandria Perkins, Australia – 24.99
- Arina Surkova, Neutral Athletes – 25.02
- Lily Price, Australia – 25.07
- Tessa Giele, Netherlands – 25.10
- (TIE) Mizuki Hirai, Japan/Sara Junevik, Sweden – 25.15
- Gretchen Walsh, USA – 25.20 (LCM time)
So excited for her other swims though. She really could break a couple or more WRs. Her 100 free is 0.6ish off…her 200 IM is bound to be better than 2:03 (maybe much better)…her 200 breast, just needs to go a PR, 50 free I mean long course she’s 23.7(?), pretty quick…and then 100 IM it’s her vs Walsh…..if you don’t forget, Douglass has fantastic turns as well. Do not count her out.
Gretchen can break the 50 free and has a good chance at the 100 free over Kate, but I do think Kate can get the 200 IM
Campbell’s 100 free WR is underrated.
I picked Kate for the 100 free, because her actual freestyle is better than Gretchen’s and it’s not like she is bad in short course. Not sure about that WR though, for either of them.
Its an 9 meters to make up a full second difference in SCY PBs
All these Aussie and Euro haters really fooling yall to think SCM ain’t a bathtub
Did Kate ever actually race the 100 free individually at NC’s? (genuine question, I don’t remember).
Also, there is that half a second difference that Gretchen needs to make up compared to their LCM PBs (which is the same actual distance).
Not individually, she did swim leadoff at NCAAs I think her last year. Gretchen pretty consistently was faster on relays than KD in the NCAA their last year. How GW faster SCY and KDs faster LCM gets netted out in SCM will be super interesting. I tend to think GW will win but it’ll certainly be closer than their SCY times
She did at her first NCs as a sophomore in 2021, where she lost to Maggie MacNeil. Her best time came from her senior ACCs where she was 45.8 (beating Gretchen), and was 1:50 low and 48.8 in the IM and fly, and she was 1:48.2 and 48.4 later at that NCs.
She knows Gretchen would cook her.
I don’t think KD has any problem with losing, especially to Gretchen, she probably just wanted to ease her event load a little lol.
8th seed with an LCM split is insane for GW
I think it was a year ago UVA put out a video of Douglass and Walsh doing 100 yards of kick in practice, and Walsh went like 4 seconds faster than Douglass…
The 50 and 100 fly WRs are toast
Oh. It was almost 3 years ago….
summer isnt swimming the 200 im
Well she should be! (Thanks)
Will Kate do the rest of events? I hope🤞🏼
the schedule looks pretty reasonable, except for the mixed 4×50 free, which is immediately before the 200 BR, so i doubt she does that one. but other than that, should be able to do everything else
i think berkoff will swim the mixed 4×50
yeah, there arent many others especially for the 50s, especially because the person i would say is AW, but she is also doing the 200 BR. BUT berkoff is a great SCY 50 freestyler, surely can throw down a great split.
side note i think the relay prelims could get interesting with how busy the top sprinters are and how small the team is. You look and see a couple pure breastrokers and distance swimmers (ie Cox, Hurst) that on this level arent going to be able to swim down to the 50/100s. I am guessing shackell is going to be swimmings lots of relay prelims, but would also expect weinstein/madden as well, maybe grimes and bacon too.
Gretchen is going to demolish that world record.
23-point incoming.
I think it will be something ridiculous like a 23.6 or something.
That’s about what I’m thinking, but with a big caveat: she has to hit her walls right, and that’s a tricky thing going from yards to meters.
I’m sure UVA has done some SCM training lately
She can probably miss her walls and still take out the 50/100 Fly WRs haha