2025 World Championships
- July 27 – August 3, 2025 (pool swimming)
- Singapore, Singapore
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Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay — Final
World Record: 3:49.63 — United States (Smith, King, G. Walsh, Huske) (2024)- World Junior Record: 3:58.38 — Canada (Hannah, Knelson, Oleksiak, Ruck) (2017)
Championship Record: 3:50.40 — United States (Smith, King, Dahlia, Manuel) (2019)- 2023 World Champion: United States (Smith, King, G. Walsh, Douglass) — 3:52.08
- 2024 Olympic Champion: United States (Smith, King, G. Walsh, Huske) — 3:52.08
Final:
- United States (Smith, Douglass, G. Walsh, Huske) – 3:49.34 *World Record*
- Australia (McKeown, Ramsay, Perkins, O’Callaghan) – 3:52.67
- China (Peng, Tang, Zhang, Cheng) – 3:54.77
- NAB – 3:55.17
- Canada – 3:55.63
- Germany – 3:56.02
- Japan – 3:57.63
- Great Britain – 3:57.95
The US women swam to a new World Record in the 4×100 medley relay as the team of Regan Smith, Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, and Torri Huske swam to a 3:49.34. That broke the previous World Record of a 3:49.63 set by the US last summer at the Paris Olympics. In addition to a World Record, it also broke the previous Championship Record of a 3:50.40 set by the US at the 2019 World Championships.
Split Comparison
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2025 Worlds Final
|
2024 Paris Final |
2019 Worlds Final
|
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| Back | Regan Smith | 57.57 | Regan Smith | 57.28 | Regan Smith | 57.57 |
| Breast | Kate Douglass | 1:04.27 | Lilly King | 1:04.90 | Lilly King | 1:04.81 |
| Fly | Gretchen Walsh | 54.98 | Gretchen Walsh | 55.03 | Kelsi Dahlia | 56.16 |
| Free | Torri Huske | 52.52 | Torri Huske | 52.42 | Simone Manuel | 51.86 |
| 3:49.34 | 3:49.63 | 3:50.40 |
The biggest difference today from last summer was the breaststroke leg as Kate Douglass threw down a 1:04.27, the 5th fastest relay split of all-time. It also was the first time Douglass swam the breaststroke leg of a relay for the US at a major long course international meet. Gretchen Walsh also had a huge split with a 54.98, the fastest split in history.
Regan Smith notably tied her split from the previous Championship Record which at the time was a World Record in the 100 backstroke as well as a World Record in the overall relay.
This was the second World Record for Douglass and Huske this week as they also helped the US to a World Record in the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay.
The absolute wildest thing about this relay is that it would be an insane 4×100 butterfly relay with 3 of the top 4 performers in history
All 4 of them are amazing butterflyers, they would definitely win and set world records if the event is added and they train for it.
LA28 should announce that the women’s 4×100 butterfly relay will be added to the program.
Slowest one of them is Kate and she’s a 56.43 which is absolutely wild
If I were to engineer that relay I’d lead off with Gretchen and she goes let’s say 54.8 next Kate and take into account her PB and I’d put her hypothetically at 55.83 next Regan she could possibly swing a 55.2 and Torri next going 55.1 which would come out to a time of
3:41.00 which would be a pretty decent women’s 4×100 free relay
The thing is, in 2021 Kate was a 56.43 in LCM and a 49.55 in SCY. She then dropped over a second the next two years to a 48.46. Obviously it’s not apples to apples, but if she has dropped the same amount in LCM she’d have broken Sjostrom’s record and would be the second fastest after Gretchen (a 55.34)
Kate Douglass has not swum a tapered 100 meter butterfly in quite some time.
Thank you Lily King for the memories and representation
Simone was movin’ in that 2019 final. I’d love to see the U.S. get a reliable 51-point anchor again.
With that much of a lead going 51 is not easy, cuz you don’t have an idea of your position in the pool..and it is the last day..tiring..
Plus you tend to hold back the first 50 just to ensure that you can finish strong if needed.
2019 was peak Manuel.
None of Simone Manuel’s relay splits at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships were sub 52.
amazing considering they were sick. While I don’t think Kate will get to WR, she is now our 100 breast fill in for Lilly.
she could, hypothetically, get it. she has a better chance in the 200, but wouldn’t be surprised if she leaves the sport with a truckload of gold medals and no individual LC world records. Kate Douglass, at the end of the day, is a racer.
If Kate Douglass starts seriously training for the 50 meter breaststroke, you never know.
I think the opposite. She said she hasn’t really got solid breast training this past years and with training she could go faster in the interview with world arquatic. She said she wants to take it easy this couple first years after Olympic. She already 218.5 for 200 and 104.2 for 100 (1st relay swim LC). We will see in the upcoming years.
I am excited to see how many WR they would break and how low the time could get in the next few years with this group. Raegan is consistently great on replay .Gretchen is already GOAT in fly but could potentially get lower. But there are massive potential in free and breast. Tori also shows she could go 0.50-0.7 lower and funny to say but Kate is newbie to the breast leg. She said in world aquatic interview her training hasn’t been focus on breast after going 218.5 on the 200 and with more training it could get better.
As King departs the scene, her medley relay WR is gone! Crazy how dominant someone can be and how the next generation takes over! Like it didn’t take very long for Phelps records to be beaten!
Yeah but her individual world record is still there which is good
So happy with the ladies ending the meet on the high note with the world record!
relay exchanges Gretchen .10 and Torri .05
need to be a bit more conservative
hate to see a future WR relay DQ
Agree. But they do all know one another well.
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