Harris, Steenbergen Won Gold in 2025

Women’s Sprint Freestyle: Meg Harris and Marrit Steenbergen Won Gold in 2025 But American Looming

The outcomes from the ladies’s dash freestyle occasions at this yr’s World Championships present a pair of veterans claiming deserved, long-awaited gold medals. Marrit Steenbergen was world champion within the 100 free in early 2024, however the Singapore discipline she topped was absolutely consultant of the most effective swimmers on the earth this yr. And within the 50 free, Meg Harris improved upon her Paris silver medal by claiming gold, successful by nearly a quarter-second.

But these two girls now face the powerful job of sustaining their maintain on the occasions shifting ahead into the brand new quad, and it’ll not be straightforward. A pair of American stars had been removed from their greatest kind at this yr’s Worlds and can absolutely search retribution whereas the longtime queen of the dash occasions might have a comeback within the works.

Sarah Sjostrom lately gave start to her first little one, a son named Adrian, however she has not dominated out a comeback to the game sooner or later. Last yr, Sjostrom received double Olympic gold within the 50 and 100 free. The splash-and-dash got here as no shock after Sjostrom had dominated the occasion for years, together with a world-record-breaking efficiency in 2023, however Sjostrom had solely determined to contest the 100 on the final minute. Her resolution to do each paid off with the best efficiency of her profession.

If she does return to chase Olympic gold at age 35, Sjostrom would most likely be a 50-meter specialist, with the addition of the 50 butterfly to the Olympic program giving her two medal possibilities. But extra instantly, it’s the Americans that Harris and her fellow Singapore medalists, Chinese teammates Wu Qingfeng and Cheng Yujie, have to fret about.

Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske had been non-factors on this yr’s Worlds remaining of the 50, with Walsh ending up fourth in 24.40 and Huske sixth in 24.50. But the world rankings inform a distinct story, with Walsh nonetheless atop the pile at 23.91 and Huske second at 23.98. The gastrointestinal sickness which ravaged the American crew all through the meet affected each of those sprinters, forcing each to drop one particular person occasion apiece from their schedules on the final minute. Neither had the pace to maintain up with Harris and the Chinese sprinters on the meet’s remaining day.

But when absolutely wholesome, anticipate a distinct end result. The U.S. truly has three of the top-four spots on the earth rankings with Kate Douglass having gone 24.04 at Nationals; ironic {that a} third-place time at a home meet would even have earned silver (and missed gold by simply two hundredths) on the worldwide degree.

In the 100 free, Huske owns the highest time on the earth together with her 52.43 from Nationals, a bit forward of Steenbergen’s 52.55 and Mollie O’Callaghan’s 52.67 from the Worlds remaining. Huske claimed bronze in that race, overcoming her bodily deficit for her lone particular person medal of the meet. She jumped forward of the sector within the early going after which hung powerful coming house, beating Steenbergen’s Milou Van Wijk for bronze by simply two hundredths.

This is one other occasion the place the Americans’ presence is looming when looking forward to the following three yr. In addition to Huske, U.S. swimmers rank fourth, fifth and sixth on the earth rankings with Walsh, Rylee Erisman and Simone Manuel, respectively, whereas Douglass has been sub-53 previously and posted a 51.90 relay cut up this yr. In any main remaining shifting ahead, we should always anticipate two Americans contending for medals.

Of course, we can not neglect how good O’Callaghan has been at her peak, together with her 2023 greatest time of 52.08 rating her seventh all-time within the occasion. Also nonetheless energetic is Siobhan Haughey, a medalist on the final two Olympic Games pressured out of this yr’s Worlds with harm. Haughey has been even faster, her 52.02 from October 2023 rating third all-time.

Right now, Harris and Steenbergen have their world titles to have fun, however the wider panorama of the 50 and 100 free suggests tight packs will vie for the medals at main meets for years to come back.