U.S. Short Course Trials, Day Two Women’s Finals: Gretchen Walsh, Regan Smith Secure Beijing Spots as World Records Fall
Two years after Gretchen Walsh dominated the Short Course World Championships with seven gold medals, she officially booked her ticket back to the global meet Thursday evening in Westmont, Ill., during the first full finals session of the U.S. Short Course World Championships Trials. Walsh finished second in the 50 freestyle and before winning 100 individual medley, both events in which she won world titles two years ago.
The Thursday evening session featured a pair of women’s world records, first from Katharine Berkoff in the 50 backstroke and then from Kate Douglass in the 50 free, where she matched Walsh’s mark. Douglass swam a tough double during the session, winning the 200 breaststroke with the fifth-fastest mark all-time before her 50-meter exploits.
Regan Smith pulled off a win in the 200 butterfly, overtaking Alex Shackell in the final 25 meters to get the job done, while Claire Weinstein touched out training partner Rylee Erisman in the 400 free.
Women’s 50 Backstroke
Katharine Berkoff swam the first world record of her career, winning the 50 back in 25.21. That broke the previous mark set by Regan Smith two years ago by two hundredths. Claire Curzan pushed Berkoff all the way to the wall before claiming second in 25.26, securing her spot at the Short Course World Championships while making Curzan the fourth-quickest woman in history. Read more here.
Women’s 200 Breaststroke
No one was ever coming close to Kate Douglass in the 200 breaststroke, an event that she has dominated on the world stage for the past three years. In the long course event, Douglass won Olympic gold in Paris and a world title one year later, and in between, she dominated the 200 breast at the Short Course World Championships. Douglass already owned the five fastest performances in history (and a tie for No. 6), with her world record of 2:12.50 topping the list.
Douglass will be the strong favorite for another short course world title this December after she fired off a time that no one else has ever surpassed at this selection meet. Douglass was out in 30.22 at the 50-meter mark, slightly under world-record pace, and she remained within reach of her sizzling pace at the halfway point. Douglass did not have her best speed coming home, but she still managed to swim the fifth-fastest time in history at 2:14.12 while claiming the win by 4.64 seconds.
Joining Douglass on the Short Course Worlds team will be longtime University of Virginia teammate Alex Walsh, who came in second in 2:18.76. Walsh return to Short Course Worlds after she won bronze behind Douglass and Evgeniia Chikunova in the event in Budapest in 2024. Walsh swam in second place for the entire race, putting herself out of range when Lucy Bell made a late surge. Bell ended up third in 2:21.71, just ahead of Maddy Huggins (2:21.84).
Women’s 400 Freestyle
California Golden Bear teammates went head-to-head for 16 lengths in the 400 freestyle. Claire Weinstein, an Olympian best known for her success in the mid-distance races, was facing off against freshman teammate Rylee Erisman, making a rare foray into a race of this distance. The duo jumped out ahead of the field from the early going, and no one ever closed the gap. Weinstein had the lead the entire race, but Erisman pulled within a tenth at the 300-meter mark.
Weinstein ended up getting to the wall first, fighting off Erisman’s furious sprint finish. Weinstein clocked 4:00.18, seven hundredths ahead of Erisman’s 4:00.25. Both swimmers qualified for the Short Course Worlds team, the first ever senior-level global team for Erisman (she previously raced at the World Junior Championships and Pan Pacific Championships). Weinstein, meanwhile, secured her return to international competition after illness forced her to withdraw from this summer’s Pan Pacs team.
Finishing eight seconds behind in third place was Chloe Stepanek in 4:08.52. Katie McCarthy, the lone competitor in the 1500 free Wednesday, placed fourth in 4:11.06.
Women’s 50 Freestyle
World-record watch was on in the women’s 50 free as Kate Douglass faced off against Gretchen Walsh. The two training partners were both world-record holders in the event, Douglass in long course and Walsh in short course. Now, the two women share the mark in the 25-meter course. Minutes after winning the 200 breast, Douglass returned for the 50 free and came through with a time of 22.75, equaling Walsh’s world record. Read more here.
Women’s 200 Butterfly
Alex Shackell looked poised to claim a rare win over American-record holder and two-time Olympic silver medalist Regan Smith in the 200 fly. Shackell led for the first 175 meters of this final, extending her lead over Smith to more than a second with 50 meters to go, but she was out of gas by the time she reached the last two lengths. That’s when Smith came through, blasting off the final two walls to put herself into the top position.
Smith’s 30.74 closing split was almost three seconds quicker than anyone else in the race, and it helped her reach the wall in 2:00.87. That was two-thirds of a second behind Smith’s American record of 2:00.20, which she set during last fall’s World Cup circuit. Smith ranks third all-time in the event behind Summer McIntosh and Mireia Belmonte, and with McIntosh opting out of this year’s Short Course Worlds, Smith will be the strong gold-medal favorite in Beijing.
Shackell held on to finish second in 2:02.76, close to her best time of 2:02.51 from last fall. Shackell will also head to the global meet as a medal favorite. Finishing third was Rachel Klinker in 2:05.04.
Women’s 100 IM
Gretchen Walsh swam the short course meters 100 IM for the first time in 2024 and quickly became the world champion and world-record holder. She will aim to defend that title this year after posting a solid performance to qualify for the U.S. team. Not long after finishing second in the women’s 50 free, Walsh jumped out ahead of world-record pace in the medley, turning nine hundredths under her own time, and she cruised to a win.
Walsh finished in 56.58, well off her global mark of 55.11. Walsh will need to swim faster if she hopes to win gold in six weeks in Beijing considering that Dutch standout Marrit Steenbergen swam as fast as 56.18 during the recent World Cup circuit, becoming the second-fastest woman all-time in the process.
Second place here went to Torri Huske, who qualified for Beijing as she surpassed Phoebe Bacon by a tenth at the finish, 58.24 to 58.34. Huske had previously finished sixth in the 50 free earlier in the evening, well off the pace of Walsh and Kate Douglass, but she rebounded quickly to secure her place on the team by the end of the meet’s first full day.