2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- March 19-22, 2025
- Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center — Federal Way, Washington
- Short Course Yards (25 yards)
- Start Times: Prelims: 10 AM ׀ Finals: 6 PM (Pacific Daylight Time)
- Meet Central
- Official Psych Sheets
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Live Results
- Live Stream
- Live Recaps:
Women’s 100 Butterfly
- NCAA Record: 47.21 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- Championship Record: 47.21 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- American Record: 47.21 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- U.S. Open Record: 47.21 — Gretchen Walsh, Virginia (2025)
- 2024 Champion: Gretchen Walsh, Virginia — 47.42
TOP 8 FINISHERS:
- Gretchen Walsh (Virginia), 46.97
- Torri Huske (Stanford), 48.90
- Emma Sticklen (Texas), 49.27
- Miranda Grana (Indiana), 50.01
- Gabi Albiero (Louisville), 50.69
- Abby Arens (Texas), 50.90
- Ella Welch (Louisville), 50.93
- Olivia Peoples (Florida), 51.09
Gretchen Walsh became the first swimmer to ever break the 47-second mark in the 100 butterfly, swimming to a 46.97. That broke her own NCAA, American, US Open, and Meet Records. She previously held the marks at a 47.21 as she broke her own NCAA and American Record in prelims.
Split Comparison
| Finals 2025 NCAAs | Prelims 2025 NCAAs | Midseason 2024 |
2024 NCAAs Finals
|
|
| 25 | 9.80 | 9.93 | 9.97 | 9.94 |
| 50 | 21.61 (11.81) | 21.86 (11.93) | 21.90 (11.93) | 21.75 (11.81) |
| 75 | 34.12 (12.51) | 34.39 (12.53) | 34.43 (12.53) | 34.29 (12.54) |
| 100 | 46.97 (12.85) | 47.21 (12.82) | 47.35 (12.92) | 47.42 (13.13) |
Walsh was out under record pace touching in a 9.80 at the 25 mark. That is also her fastest first 25 in any swim ever including the first 25 of her 50 free where she flips to her feet.
Walsh now holds the eight fastest 100 butterfly times of all-time. No other woman has been sub-48 seconds and Walsh now has gotten under the 47-second mark.
Top 100 Fly Performances All-Time
- Gretchen Walsh, 46.97, 2025 NCAA Finals
- Gretchen Walsh, 47.21, 2025 NCAA Prelims
- Gretchen Walsh, 47.35, 2024 Midseason
- Gretchen Walsh, 47.48, Eddie Reese Showdown
- Gretchen Walsh, 47.42, 2024 NCAA Finals
- Gretchen Walsh, 48.25, 2024 ACCs
- Gretchen Walsh, 48.26, 2024 NCAA Prelims
- Gretchen Walsh, 48.43, Virginia vs UNC Dual
For context, as ridiculous as this swim is, it’s 3.08% better than Kate Douglass.
Dressel’s 17.63 was 4.55% better than the second best ever by Cesar Cielo
Let that sink in
comparing to 2nd fastest is definitely an easily digestible heuristic, but definitely not the end all be all especially given that it’ll be subject to more variance than comparing to other marks. There’s been a lot of “star power” in the NCAA 100 fly in the several years, much more than in the several years leading up to 2018 in the men’s 50 free
That would have medaled at Winter Juniors East for BOYS. Tied for 3rd with Max Buff.
How do we compare this to Caleb’s 100 fly? More ridiculous?
This swim easily qualifies for the 100 free A-final (would’ve finished 4th in finals last year). If you look at the men’s times from last year, it took a 41.3 to qualify for the A-final and 4th/5th were 40.61 and 40.66
I don’t know how accurate of a comparison that is, but the fact that this could convert to a 40 high/41 men’s 100 fly by this metric is ridiculous
If you use the 2018 numbers instead (“swimflation adjusted”), it took 41.82 to qualify for the A-final and a 41.51 to place 4th, so even conservatively, this swim is solidly like a 41 mid men’s time?
Caeleb himself would’ve been 27th in prelims of the 100 free in 2018; for comparison, Kate Douglass and Maggie MacNeil would’ve been 31st and 33rd in 2023
Way more ridiculous than Dressel’s. She has a bigger margin between her and the second fastest ever, and the pedigree of #2-4 (Douglass, MacNeil, Huske) on the all time list behind her is unreal. That trio is a full .5 ahead of the fifth fastest woman ever. But their swims look pedestrian next to Gretchen.
Greatest. SCY swimmer. Of all time.
This swim puts Gretchen at 3.08% faster than KD
Caeleb’s 50 free was 4.55% faster than Cielo
Australia is silent….. just how we like them.
no Australian is denying how great she is or will continue to be but like everywhere else outside of America we don’t care what times people do in yards. She’s the WR holder and greatest 100 flyer in both SCM and LCM you know real swimming distances that the rest of the world care about yards outside your trigger happy country 🤣
Someone’s angry…
No anger at all, if you read my response I acknowledge how good of a swimmer she is and she’s likely only going to get quicker all I said is that people outside of America generally don’t care about yards which is true considering the rest of the world swims metres. If NCAA were in metres it’d likely receive more international attention however I know that’s extremely difficult to make possible due to the high number of ext only pools in the states
THIS.
I love watching GW swim, but yards times mean nothing to me.
GW just beat the Olympic champion by nearly 2 seconds! Holy smoke!!!
Yep that was my takeaway.
RIDICULOUS
Maxine Parker and Gabi Albiero in the 50y free prelims tied for 7th in 21.63. Which is, as far as I’m aware, the fastest time it has ever taken to make the “A” final in the 50y free.
Gretchen Walsh’s 50y fly split? 21.61.
Underestimate her in LCM at your own peril.
When she fully transitions her focus to LCM she will take it to another level just like KD did.
(The people talking smack about GW in LCM are the same people that talked smack about KD in LCM two years ago…how’d that turn out?)
Agree with you!!! <3
I mean she’s already the WR holder in the 100 fly and the only way she can lose in that event is if she beats herself
Interested in what you mean by that – did she beat herself at the Olympics?
Not disrespecting Huske but Walsh did underperform in the Olympic final a bit and she breathed into the wall while Huske kept her head down which may have been the difference. Credit to Huske who was def the more consistent swimmer that quad and clutched up in the moment
I don’t think she underperformed.
Long course meters is a different beast, especially with prelims, semis, and finals. Also, SCY does not always translate time for time in LCM.
Her world record is already pretty good in LCM. However, her 46.97 SCY time doesn’t mean she will suddenly be swimming a 54 low in LCM. It doesn’t always translate like this.
The difference at the olympics was experience. It was GW first one where as Huske had been before. People don’t realise how big of a mental toll that can have especially if you overthink the fact that this chance only comes every 4th year anything could happen in that time or anyone could rise up in that time. Go back to 2016 Ledecky wins the 200, 400 and 800. Everyone all of a sudden thinks no one will ever beat her in a race that is 400m or over given her dominance, at that time who would have thought come Tokyo that she gets beat in the 400 and doesn’t even medal in the 200. You never know what could… Read more »