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≡ THE NEWEST SWIM STAR ≡
“What a crazy time, I honestly shocked myself.”
That’s American sprint swim star Gretchen Walsh, after she lowered her own world 50 m Butterfly record for a second time on the same day last Saturday (3rd) on the final day of the Tyr Pro Swim Series meet in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The 22-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, who starred at the University of Virginia with 25 NCAA titles in her four seasons, had a meet for the ages. In order:
● 100 m Free: won in 52.90, world leader in 2025.
● 50 m Fly: led all qualifiers at 25.15 in heats, world leader in 2025. Won the final in 24.93, world leader in 2025, American Record, no. 2 performance in history, second woman ever under 25 seconds.
● 100 m Fly: led all qualifiers at 55.09 in heats, world leader in 2025, world record, breaking her own mark (55.18) from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. Won the final in 54.60 for another world record!
● 50 m Free: won in 24.33, world leader in 2025.
Observers all knew Walsh was special. While still 21 she had already:
● Won four Paris 2024 Olympic medals, with golds in the women’s 4×100 m Medley relay and mixed 4×100 Medley relay and silvers in the 100 m Fly and women’s 4×100 m Freestyle relay. She was also fourth in the 50 m Free and eighth in the 100 m Free finals.
● Won seven – yes, seven – World Short-Course golds last December in Budapest (HUN), taking the 50-100 m Freestyles, 50-100 m Butterflys, 100 m Medley and the 4×100 m Freestyle and 4×100 m Medley relays!
Now she’s set three world marks in the 100 m Fly and is closing in on the 50 m Fly record as well. After breaking her own record in the morning heats, she was asked if she changed her approach for the finals in the evening:
“To be honest with you, I didn’t change any part of my race strategy going into tonight. It was still going to be the goal to take 17 strokes on the way out, hopefully one less stroke coming back home. I have found that taking one less stroke has given me that extra energy, so I just did the same exact thing tonight.
“I was long in my turn and my finish as well, which I’m kind of happy about because I can go faster. I look forward to perfecting that race. If it was perfect, I wouldn’t feel the confidence that I could go faster, so I’m excited for more, but definitely did not expect to drop that much in the race tonight.
“It has been a trend for me at this meet to go faster at night – every race I was able to do that. There’s something that happens with finals, maybe it’s the day of rest, maybe it’s the nap, but there’s just extra energy I find, and I just continue off the momentum of the morning. I was slightly nervous, but I think I’ve learned how to handle that pressure and look at the race as another opportunity to execute and do the plan that I talk about every day with [Virginia coach] Todd [Desorbo].”
Walsh also shared considerable surprise at her record performances exactly a month ahead of the USA Swimming nationals in Indianapolis in June:
“I need to set some new goals. It was shocking, I did not expect to be here doing this.
“I knew I was going to be having fun out here. I love swimming outside and getting to see my friends again. It’s been a long NCAA season where you don’t see everyone that is a pro, so I’ve had a great time, and it has helped that I’m going really fast.
“I think this bodes really well for everything to come this summer. I definitely need to keep working and finding new motivation because I have surpassed so many barriers I talked about prior to the season.
“I might have to get creative with goals, not make them time-based, I think that helps me see it more as an opportunity to execute, versus having to go by a time. I’m really happy with where I’m at. I’m looking forward to getting back to Charlottesville, graduating, and beginning this pro journey. It started on such a high note; this is going to be awesome.”
Walsh made a modest impact at her first World Aquatics Championships, in 2023, winning a 50 m Butterfly bronze, a Medley relay gold and Free relay silver. But if she is this dominant at the U.S. nationals, she will be a star to watch at the 2025 Worlds in Singapore from 11 July to 3 August.
She’s not really thinking about that now, however. After all, she had a great time in Ft. Lauderdale. After breaking her own record in the heats, she took time to relax:
“I’ve been going to the beach every day. I love the ocean. I’ve grown up by the ocean my whole life. I find a lot of comfort and peace when I’m by the beach, so I have been out there enjoying it every day. I love being here in Florida. I do that, then I get back to my room, take a two-hour nap, and then back to the pool. I have gotten the best sleep of my life; I have been so happy here.
“The overarching theme that a happy swimmer is a fast swimmer. I’ve always believed that, but at times it has been hard for me to do that. When I’m having fun, everything seems to be going my way, so I want to carry that throughout the rest of the summer and look at every race as an opportunity.”
Walsh and her one-year-older sister, Alex – the 2022 Worlds 200 m Medley gold medalist and 2024 Olympic runner-up – are going to be U.S. stars for quite a while. And while the debate over college athletes receiving name-image-likeness money continues, the sisters used some of their earnings at Virginia to start the Sporti x Alex + Gretchen Walsh swim apparel line – for men and women!
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