SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers which recent world record swim caught them off guard most, both before and after Summer McIntosh‘s new mark in the 200 fly:
Question: Which world record swim surprised you the most? (pre-McIntosh)
RESULTS
- Kate Douglass – 50 free (23.59) – 64.6%
- Marrit Steenbergen – 100 free (51.68) – 18.0%
- Gretchen Walsh – 50 free (23.55) – 17.3%
Question: Which world record swim surprised you the most? (including McIntosh)
RESULTS
- Kate Douglass – 50 free (23.59) – 60.3%
- Gretchen Walsh – 50 free (23.55) – 14.5%
- Summer McIntosh – 200 fly (2:01.65) – 13.4%
- Marrit Steenbergen – 100 free (51.68) – 11.7%
It’s rare to see one world record go down in-season, prior to the summer’ championship meets, but we incredibly saw three world record swims within a span of nine days late last month.
Kate Douglass shocked everyone when she took down Sarah Sjostrom‘s three-year-old record in the women’s 50 free at the Indianapolis Pro Swim on June 19, clocking 23.59 to erase Sjostrom’s 23.61 marker from the books.
The following weekend at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Marrit Steenbergen finally cracked Sjostrom’s nine-year-old record in the 100 free after a few close attempts, putting up a time of 51.68 on June 27 to knock off Sjostrom’s 51.71 standard from 2017.
That swim came after Steenbergen broke 52 seconds twice during the Mare Nostrum Tour in May (51.86, 51.97) and the week after breaking the world record, she did it again, going 51.82 at the Dutch Trials.
One day after Steenbergen’s record swim, Gretchen Walsh took down Douglass’ newly-minted world record in the 50 free at the Sette Colli Trophy, clocking 23.55 to knock four one-hundredths off the nine-day old record.
When Douglass broke the record in Indianapolis, Walsh placed 2nd in a personal best time of 23.78, showing she was on good form prior to Rome.
After these three records came down in quick order, we asked SwimSwam readers which performance surprised them the most.
Coming out by a wide margin was Douglass’ swim which earned nearly a third of votes at 64.6%. That result checks out, given that Douglass stepped onto the blocks with a personal best time of 23.91, three-tenths short of Sjostrom’s record, which is an eternity in a 50-meter race. That made her performance a shock, no doubt.
For Steenbergen, who earned 18% of votes, she had been knocking on the door of breaking the record leading up to it, while for Walsh, who had just under Steenbergen’s tally at 17.3%, she had shown career-best form in the event just nine days prior.
Additionally, Douglass had broken the dam open in the 50, making Walsh’s swim less of a shock because the record had only just been broken (and perhaps lifting a mental barrier for Walsh and helping her believe it was possible). We saw a similar situation earlier in the season when Anna Moesch became the first woman in five years to break 52 seconds in the 100 free, only for Steenbergen to do so two days later.
During the poll’s week-long stint on the SwimSwam homepage, Summer McIntosh joined the world record-breaking party, knocking off the oldest women’s record on the books on the opening day of the Canadian Swimming Trials.
McIntosh clocked 2:01.65 in the 200 fly to break Liu Zige‘s vaunted super-suited world record of 2:01.18 set in 2009.
We opted to reset the poll and add McIntosh’s swim to the mix to see where it stood, but it was still Douglass’ 50 free that readers were most surprised by.
Douglass earned 60.3% in the second poll, followed by Walsh, McIntosh and then Steenbergen.
While McIntosh’s swim was the most groundbreaking in terms of it being the oldest female record on the books and one that many thought would stand much longer than it did, she had come close last year (2:01.99, 2:02.26), making it look like it was just a matter of time before it went down, and it was.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which male swimmer will walk away with the most individual titles at the Commonwealth Games?
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
