FLASH! Gretchen Walsh Destroys World Record in 50 Butterfly
Wasn’t it simply a matter of time? Given her prowess as the finest female short-course swimmer in history, a world record from Gretchen Walsh seemed likely during the first stop of the World Cup circuit in Carmel, Indiana. Saturday night turned out to be right moment for such an effort, as Walsh destroyed her own global standard in the 50-meter butterfly.
Clocking a time of 23.72, Walsh sliced .22 off her previous world record, which was set at last year’s World Short Course Championships in Budapest. Walsh shot to the front of the field off the start and was in the lead at the 25-meter mark, thanks to a split of 10.95. She continued to build on her advantage on the return lap, which she covered in 12.77. Walsh finished nearly a second ahead of Aussie Alexandria Perkins, the runnerup in 24.64.
Walsh now owns the seven-fastest times in event history, including the only two sub-24 efforts. During prelims, Walsh set a World Cup record of 24.11 and provided a sense that a world record was within reach at night. To put Walsh’s world record in perspective, the effort would have been good for third place in the 50 freestyle on the opening night of the meet.
In the short-course pool, Walsh now owns world records in the 50 freestyle, 50 butterfly, 100 butterfly and 100 individual medley.
