Gretchen Walsh lowered her own American record and became the second-fastest woman in history in the 50m butterfly, an event that debuts at the Olympics in 2028.
Walsh, the world record holder in the 100m butterfly, clocked 24.93 seconds in the 50m fly at a Tyr Pro Swim Series meet in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday night.
She broke her own American record (25.11 from 2023) and moved from joint No. 4 to No. 2 on the all-time world list. Only Sarah Sjöström of Sweden has been faster, posting the world record of 24.43 and the top 14 times in history overall, according to World Aquatics.
“I think the second woman to ever be under 25 (seconds) is a pretty cool stat,” Walsh said on Peacock. “Definitely had my eyes set on that.”
SWIMMING: Full Results | Broadcast Schedule
Last month, the IOC announced that the 50m butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke were added to the Olympics for 2028, joining the 50m freestyle, which has been on the program since 1988.
Sjöström, the Paris Olympic 50m and 100m free gold medalist, is taking this season off and expecting her first child.
Walsh could go into the World Championships this July and August with a chance to win four individual events — 50m and 100m butterfly and freestyle — should she make the team in all of them at nationals from June 3-7.
The only swimmers to win four individual titles at a single worlds (50-meter pool) are Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel.
Walsh, 22, accomplished the following in a breakout last 14 months:
March 2024: Three individual NCAA titles, all in American record times
June 2024: Breaks 100m butterfly world record, makes first Olympic team
July/August 2024: Two gold medals, two silver medals at Paris Games
December 2024: 11 world records, seven gold medals at short course worlds
March 2025: Three individual NCAA titles, two in American record times
Later Friday, Bobby Finke, an Olympic 800m and 1500m free champ, edged France’s Leon Marchand in the 400m individual medley -- 4:13.67 to 4:13.86.
Marchand won four individual golds in Paris, including the 400m IM, where he holds the world record of 4:02.50. A defeat this early in the season isn’t too surprising as swimmers are gearing up for bigger meets in the coming months.
The Fort Lauderdale meet ends Saturday with finals at 6 p.m. ET, live on the USA Swimming Network app.
On the first two days of the meet, Katie Ledecky posted the second-fastest times of her career in Wednesday’s 1500m free (her best time in the event since 2018) and Thursday’s 400m free (her best time since 2016).
Ledecky is entered in the 800m free on Saturday.
