2024 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS
- June 15-23, 2024
- Lucas Oil Stadium — Indianapolis, IN
- LCM (50 Meters)
- Session Start Times (ET):
- 11 a.m. Prelims
- 7:45 p.m. Finals (varying based on broadcast needs)
- Meet Central
- Broadcast Info
- SwimSwam’s Definitive Guide to Trials
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
- Day 1 Prelims Live Recap
Long course Gretchen Walsh has arrived.
In the preliminary heats of the women’s 100 butterfly at the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials, Walsh clocked a time of 55.94 to take the top overall seed. She improved 0.2 seconds from her previous personal best of 56.14, which was set at the San Antonio Pro Swim Series this April. She also becomes the sixth-fastest performer of all-time, the second-fastest American of all-time, and the seventh woman in history to go under 56 seconds in the event.
All-Time Top Performers, Women’s 100 Butterfly:
- Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden — 55.48 (2016)
- Maggie MacNeil, Canada — 55.59 (2021)
- Zhang Yufei, China — 55.62 (2020)
- Torri Huske, United States — 55.64 (2022)
- Emma McKeon, Australia — 55.72 (2021)
- Gretchen Walsh, United States — 55.94 (2024)
The key to Walsh’s improvements have been on the back half. She swam 0.38 seconds slower than in April going out, but was 0.58 seconds faster coming back.
Split Comparison:
| Gretchen Walsh, 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials | Gretchen Walsh, 2024 San Antonio Pro Series | |
| 50m | 26.22 | 25.84 |
| 100m | 29.72 | 30.30 |
| Final | 55.94 | 56.14 |
Walsh swam the 100 fly at the 2023 World Championships, finishing eighth overall. However, her time from Saturday indicates that she could be in medal contention this year if she ends up replicating her time at the Paris Olympics.
Headed into trials, Walsh was coming off a historic NCAA season where she broke four NCAA records in four individual events. If her performance Saturday is any indication, she might be able to translate her short course success into long course just fine.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Gretchen Walsh Clocks 55.94 100 Fly, Becomes Sixth-Fastest Performer Of All-Time