Gretchen Walsh breaks Kate Douglass' 50-meter freestyle world record
Yahoo Sports • • sports
Key Points:
- Gretchen Walsh set a new world record in the 50-meter freestyle with a time of 23.55 seconds at the 67th Sette Colli meet in Rome, becoming the fastest female sprinter in swimming history.
- This record-breaking performance came less than two weeks after her training partner and University of Virginia teammate Kate Douglass had set a previous world record in the same event.
- Walsh and Douglass have been key figures in one of the most dominant women's swimming programs in NCAA history and continue to push the boundaries of sprint freestyle swimming.
- At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Walsh won four medals, including two golds, and also holds the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, along with the 16 fastest recorded times in that event.
- The University of Virginia's training group is now recognized as a leading force in women's sprint freestyle, with both Walsh and Douglass holding the fastest times in history.
