FLASH! Gretchen Walsh Takes Down World Record in 50 Free at 23.55
Kate Douglass’ world record in the women’s 50 freestyle had a healthy long lifespan of nine days. It didn’t move far within the Virginia training group.
Gretchen Walsh clocked in at 23.55 on Sunday on the final day of Sette Colli in Rome, clipping .04 seconds off the mark that Douglass set in Indianapolis last week.
Walsh won a final heat that included the former record holder, Sarah Sjostrom, and Sara Curtis.
RECORDE DEL MONDO DI GRETCHEN WALSH NEI 50 STILE LIBERO IN 23.55, RECORD ITALIANO DI SARA CURTIS 24.09 E RIENTRO MOSTRUOSO DI SARAH SJOSTROEM 23.86 IL MIGLIOR SETTECOLLI DI SEMPRE 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 pic.twitter.com/Xrk0jTNd2H
— pauldeb89 (@pauldeb891) June 28, 2026
Walsh went 24.10 in prelims to lead the way, with Sjostrom, back after giving birth to her first child, second in 24.24 and Curtis third in 24.37.
All were much faster in the final. Walsh went 23.55 to undercut Douglass’ 23.59 from just over a week ago. Sjostrom, whose former world record remains the European mark at 23.61, was second in 23.86. Curtis, who held the Italian record at 24.29 and nearly broke that in prelims, demolished it in finals by going 24.09.
Walsh got a hug from Curtis, her training partner in Charlottesville, from an adjacent lane. Douglass posted on her Instagram story, “was fun while it lasted” with a handshake emoji and a tag of Walsh.
Sjostrom had held the world record since 2017. She went 23.67 at the 2017 World Championships, then lowered it by .06 at Worlds in 2023. Her mark had taken down the super-suited mark of Britta Steffen from the 2009 World Championships in Rome.
Douglass was the first American to hold this record since Dara Torres in 1984.
Walsh’s claiming united the short- and long-course records. Walsh took down the mark of Ranomi Kromowidjojo in the shorter pool in 2024 when she went 22.87 in semifinals and 22.83 in finals at the World Short-Course Championships.
The world record is Walsh’s second individual in the long-course pool, to go with her 100 fly time from May 2025. She also holds two medley relay world records. She owns four individual world records in the short-course pool and two in relays.
It’s the latest sprint record to bite the dust this week, with Marrit Steenbergen taking down Sjostrom’s 100 free world record on Saturday.