FLASH! Gretchen Walsh Crushes 100 IM World Record, Breaks Three More SCM American Records at Dual Meet
The Gretchen Walsh show has returned to college swimming. The University of Virginia senior, just two-and-a-half months removed from her first Olympic Games, is already breaking records, this time in an unfamiliar format. The Cavaliers opted to hold their dual meet against the Florida in short course meters, allowing Walsh to take a shot at a new set of global and national records.
Indeed, Walsh broke records in each of her four swims, but she saved the best for last. Her trademark underwater dolphin kicking was on full display as Walsh took down the world record in the 100 IM. She clocked a time of 55.98 to beat the previous record of 56.51 set by Katinka Hosszu seven years ago.
Walsh also lowered the hours-old American record of 56.99 set by University of Virginia teammate Kate Douglass earlier Friday at the World Cup meet in Shanghai. That swim had made Douglass only the second woman ever, along with Hosszu, to swim under 57, but Walsh has quickly soared to incomprehensible territory, much as she has in her record-setting short course yards sprint performances at recent years’ college championship meets.
Before that, Walsh had already knocked off three domestic records, beginning with the 50 backstroke as she led off UVA’s 200 medley relay. She clocked 25.36 in that race to beat the time set by teammate Claire Curzan at the 2022 Short Course World Championships by 12-hundredths. Walsh sits behind only Maggie Mac Neil and Kaylee McKeown on the all-time list, with the Canadian butterfly specialist holding the world record at 25.25 and McKeown clocking 25.36 earlier in the day at the World Cup.
Next up, Walsh took aim at the 100 back and blasted a time of 54.89, equaling the time that had stood as the world record prior to Olympic gold medalist Kaylee McKeown going 54.56 last month. Walsh tied Minna Atherton for No. 2 all-time in the event while beating the American mark held by Olivia Smoliga (55.03).
The 50 freestyle brought another near-miss of a world record, with Walsh recording a time of 23.10, crushing Abbey Weitzeil’s American record of 23.44 and moving into a tie for No. 4 all-time, less than two tenths behind the world record of 22.93 held by Ranomi Kromowidjojo.
Most Americans rarely race in short course meters competitions prior to or during their college careers, focusing instead on short course yards and long course meters; indeed, Walsh had never raced a sanctioned competition in the 25-meter format prior to this dual meet. Given her success in the 25-yard pool, it cannot be considered a surprise that she is immediately excelling a course only slightly longer.
During her time at Virginia, Walsh has captured six individual NCAA titles and contributed to 12 Virginia relay wins at the national championships, and she has rewritten the NCAA and American record books in yards. She swam the fastest yards times ever in the 50 and 100 free, 100 back and 100 fly last season, with her 100 fly mark putting her nearly a second clear of history’s second-fastest performer.
Walsh followed that up with a stellar long course campaign, breaking the world record in the 100 butterfly at the U.S. Olympic Trials and then winning silver in the event at the Paris Olympics while also qualifying for two additional individual finals at the Games and helping the U.S. to three relay medals, including two gold. Ironically, this short course meters debut did not include any butterfly aside from the opening length of her 100 IM, so perhaps there are more records Walsh could tick off if given another opportunity racing this course in the near future.
With Walsh’s efforts at the forefront for the Cavaliers, the Virginia women defeated Florida by a score of 181-119. Notably, Gretchen’s older sister Alex Walsh, a two-time U.S. Olympian, did not compete. The Florida men, meanwhile, crushed Virginia by a 231-69 margin.