American swimmer Gretchen Walsh made history during a semifinal heat at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Indianapolis. Walsh clocked 55.18 seconds in the 100-meter women’s butterfly Saturday to set a new world record in the event. Her time beat out Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström, who recorded the previous fastest time of 55.48 seconds at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, by more than half a second.
Walsh entered the semifinal heat as the top seed after recording a time of 55.94 in a preliminary heat. This already ranked as the sixth-fastest race in the event’s history. She is a senior at the University of Virginia and a Nashville native. Walsh played a significant role in UVA’s achievement as the third swim team in NCAA history to win four consecutive team titles. At just 21 years old, Walsh now has the opportunity to qualify for her first Olympic team if she ranks among the top two finishers during the Sunday night final. She will be facing experienced Olympians including 2020 Tokyo medalists Torri Huske, Regan Smith, and Claire Curzan.
After her historic performance, Walsh expressed her happiness at setting a new standard, calling it a “surreal experience” and being “over the moon”. She said that she had been working hard for this moment for years and that it was all worth it when she crossed the finish line and saw her time on the scoreboard. With her new world record, Walsh has cemented herself as one of the fastest swimmers in history and has set an example for others to follow in her footsteps
