{"id":649204,"date":"2026-08-01T09:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T16:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=649204"},"modified":"2026-08-01T10:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:20:17","slug":"u-s-nationals-day-five-womens-prelims-gretchen-walsh-pops-sub-24-outing-in-50-freestyle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/u-s-nationals-day-five-womens-prelims-gretchen-walsh-pops-sub-24-outing-in-50-freestyle\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Nationals, Day Five Women’s Prelims: Gretchen Walsh Pops Sub-24 Outing in 50 Freestyle"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Nationals, Day Five Women’s Prelims: Gretchen Walsh Pops Sub-24 Outing in 50 Freestyle<\/strong><\/p>\n

University of Virginia superstar Gretchen Walsh, the world-record holder in the 50-meter freestyle, will be in action in that event on the final day of the United States National Championships in Irvine, California. In late June, Walsh set a world record of 23.55 in the one-lap dash, taking the record from training partner, Kate Douglass (23.59). Douglass was a declared false start for the 50 freestyle in Irvine.<\/p>\n

Walsh is preparing for this month’s Pan Pacific Championships and will be joined in the 50 free by teammate Anna Moesch, the American-record holder in the 100 freestyle. On the opening night of Nationals, Moesch clocked 51.88 for the 100 free and came back a day later to win the 200 freestyle.<\/p>\n

The 200 individual medley is also on the schedule for Day Five, with Virginia’s Alex Walsh as the top seed. Also racing the 200 IM are UVA’s Leah Hayes and University of Texas recruit Audrey Derivaux, who has already locked down several berths to the Junior Pan Pacific Championships.<\/p>\n

Here is an event-by-event recap of the Day Five prelims:<\/p>\n