Gretchen Walsh Swims 55.18 100 Butterfly, Breaks World Record

By Yanyan Li on SwimSwam

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)
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After breaking 56 seconds for the first time Saturday morning, Gretchen Walsh proceeded to break the world record in the 100 butterfly at night.

In the semi-finals of the women’s 100 butterfly at the 2024 U.S. Olympic trials, Walsh threw down a time of 55.18, taking down Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjostrom‘s previous world record time of 55.48 from the 2016 Rio Olympics. She also dropped 0.76 seconds from her prelims time of 55.94, which previously made her the sixth-fastest performer of all-time. Headed into this meet, Walsh’s best time was a 56.18 from the San Antonio Pro Swim Series in April 2024.

All-Time Top Performers, Women’s 100-Meter Butterfly:

1. Gretchen Walsh, United States — 55.18 (2024)
2. Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden — 55.48 (2016)
3. Maggie MacNeil, Canada — 55.59 (2021)
4. Zhang Yufei, China — 55.62 (2020)
5. Torri Huske, United States — 55.64 (2022)

Walsh came home at about the same speed that she did Saturday morning, but she was a whole 0.77 seconds faster going out. Both her first and second 50s were faster than they were when she set her personal best prior to trials.

Split Comparison:

At the 2023 World Championships, Walsh finished eighth in the finals of the 100 fly. However, if she ends up qualifying for the event on Sunday night, she will vault into the position of gold medal favorite as the world record holder.

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