At the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis, a 21-year-old swimmer named Gretchen Walsh made history by setting a world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly. In a semifinal heat, she posted a stunning time of 55.18 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 55.48 set by Sarah Sjöström at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Walsh, who competes for the University of Virginia, was more than half a second ahead of world-record pace at the turn and managed to maintain her speed to break the record. Despite feeling like she was tiring out during the race, she was shocked to see her name next to a “WR” on the scoreboard.
Looking ahead to the final, Walsh will have tough competition from other top swimmers like Torri Huske, Regan Smith, and Claire Curzan, all of whom medaled at the Tokyo Games. Despite this, Walsh is confident that she can improve her time even further.
Reflecting on her world record-setting performance, Walsh expressed her surprise at achieving such a milestone and acknowledged that there was a buzz surrounding her achievement. She credits her hard work and dedication to the sport for helping her reach this point and is focused on continuing to improve in the future.
