How Gretchen Walsh Has Crushed All Limits in 100 Butterfly

How Gretchen Walsh Has Crushed All Limits in 100 Butterfly

Three years in the past, Gretchen Walsh opted to race the 100 backstroke as an alternative of the 100 butterfly on the center day of her sophomore-year NCAA Championships. The resolution shocked nobody, and Walsh established the quickest time in historical past within the occasion at 48.26. About an hour earlier, Virginia teammate Kate Douglass received a showdown with Olympic champion Maggie Mac Neil within the 100 fly, with each swimmers crushing the earlier NCAA and U.S. Open information. Douglass hit the wall at 48.46 to take the victory.

At that second, the world information within the meters model of that occasion belonged to Sarah Sjostrom in lengthy course at 55.48, a mark that dated again to the 2016 Olympics, and Mac Neil in brief course, at 54.05. Months later, Walsh would make her first critical aggressive foray into the 100 fly, qualifying to race the occasion at World Championships and ending eighth. But since then, she has fully reimagined the boundaries of the occasion — in all three programs.

The soar occurred through the Olympic season of 2024. By that time, she had lastly developed the endurance required to take care of her velocity and energy down the size of the 50-meter pool. And on the U.S. Olympic Trials, she took down a world report that had lasted eight years, going 55.18 within the semifinal spherical. She backed up that efficiency an evening later with a time of 55.31, additionally below the earlier mark. At the Paris Games, Walsh set an Olympic report of 55.38 within the semifinal spherical, though she would find yourself falling within the ultimate as Torri Huske surged forward within the closing strokes.

By 2025, nonetheless, Walsh was unbeatable. There had been a pair of out-of-nowhere world information on the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series in May, 55.09 in prelims and a jaw-dropping 54.60 within the ultimate. A month later at U.S. Nationals, she received the occasion in 54.76. At the World Championships, Walsh battled by sickness to say gold in 54.73. It was lower than 14 months since nobody had touched 55.48, and now Walsh had been below 55 on three separate events.

All that was earlier than her newest blast, once more in Fort Lauderdale. Out in 25.09 and again in 29.24, Walsh broke the world report for a fourth time with an unimaginable mark of 54.33. That was greater than a second quicker than Sjostrom ever went, making her probably the most dominant performer in any lengthy course occasion. In whole, the 23-year-old now owns the ten quickest performances ever within the occasion.

Gretchen Walsh on the 2025 World Championships — Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron

But earlier than Walsh moved her domination to the Olympic pool, she obliterated all historic precedent in brief course yards. During the 2023-24 faculty season, Walsh unofficially broke the all-time report within the occasion at midseason as she raced butterfly in a freestyle occasion. In the spring, the magic started: 48.25 on the ACC Championships, then a surprising 47.42 on the NCAA meet. She was a full second forward of the occasions Douglass and Mac Neil had posted one yr earlier, occasions which had then appeared like such an enormous soar.

Not content material with that, Walsh blistered the mark by one other half-second her senior season, with occasions of 47.21 within the NCAA prelims and 46.97 at evening. After the finals swim, the scoreboard on the King County Aquatic Center had gone out, so Walsh might solely smile and shrug for a couple of moments till she discovered she had reached the 46s far prior to anybody might have imagined. Such is her dominance in brief course that she received by two full seconds over Huske, simply months after Huske had taken down Walsh within the Olympic ultimate of the lengthy course occasion.

Don’t neglect about quick course meters, the final of the codecs to fall to Walsh’s butterfly mastery. Most Americans scarcely race within the format, not less than till they’ve alternatives to compete globally, and Walsh took benefit instantly. Mac Neil’s 54.05 was gone as quickly as Walsh arrived on the 2024 Short Course World Championships in Budapest. In truth, she broke the world report in all three rounds, going 53.24 in prelims, 52.87 in semifinals and 52.71 within the ultimate. The latter swim resulted in a gold medal by nearly two seconds. A yr later, Walsh swam occasions within the 53-second vary on 4 events through the World Cup circuit, giving her historical past’s seven finest efforts.

Not unhealthy for a swimmer who spent the primary two years of her faculty profession specializing in dash freestyle and backstroke. Of course, Walsh stays an elite freestyler as effectively, with official possibilities of incomes worldwide medals (maybe even gold) within the 50 and 100 free in coming years. She received the world title within the 50 fly final yr, however her dominance in that race might come below fireplace with Sjostrom’s return to racing.

As for the 100 fly, although, Walsh has found out the proper mixture of energy, velocity and the flexibility to hold on down the stretch. She is probably going completed racing quick course yards, not less than for championship meets, however the meters information might proceed to tumble in coming years. She has one world title in every course already, and with greater than a full second benefit on anybody else in historical past, extra titles will certainly comply with.