FLASH! Gretchen Walsh Swims 54.60 to Crush Hours-Old 100 Fly World Record
Gretchen Walsh stunned the world in prelims at the TYR Pro Series in Fort Lauderdale when she knocked nine hundredths from her own world record in the 100 butterfly. That new standard lasted less than nine hours before Walsh returned to the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center in the evening to rocket the event under 55 for the first time.
Walsh was racing against Torri Huske, the swimmer who edged out Walsh for Olympic gold in Paris, but no one came close on this occasion. She was out in 25.32, nine tenths ahead of Huske and two tenths under her split from prelims. She closed in 29.28, enough to lower her prelims world record by almost a half-second with a final time of 54.60.
Huske finished second in 56.59, an elite time for a midseason meet and just over a second off the 55.52 that was good enough for Olympic gold last year. She moved up to No. 3 in the world rankings behind Walsh and Germany’s Angelina Kohler. But Huske ended up almost two full seconds behind her main rival. Third place here went to Alex Shackell in 57.31.
Entering the day, the 100 fly record stood at 55.18, which Walsh clocked in the semifinals at last year’s U.S. Olympic Trials, and her times of 55.09 and 54.60 give her the five fastest marks ever in the event. For eight years, Sarah Sjostrom held the world record in the event at 55.48, but Walsh is now almost nine tenths ahead of that mark.
Notably, Walsh might have been even quicker if not for gliding into both her turn and finish, deciding against taking an additional stroke on both occasions. It did not even matter, though, as her latest world record was enough to elicit a “Wow” from the stunned swimmer as she made sense of the numbers on the scoreboard.
Considered an elite sprinter for years, Walsh has made huge improvements in recent seasons on the back half of her long course 100-meter races. Splitting 29.73 to close down her first world-record swim last June was considered a breakthrough, but Walsh posted a split almost four tenths faster Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.
Splits Comparison:
- Walsh, 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials: 25.45, 55.18 (29.73)
- Walsh, 2025 Pro Series Prelims: 25.54, 55.09 (29.55)
- Walsh, 2025 Pro Series Final: 25.32, 54.60 (29.32)
The world record is the highlight of the meet, but Walsh has been incredible throughout the sprint races in Fort Lauderdale. She swam under 53 in the 100 freestyle for the first time in her career, and she broke the American record in the 50 fly. Minutes after this latest record, she edged Huske and Kasia Wasick for the 50 free win, giving her the world’s top time for 2025 in all four races.
Since the start of 2024, Walsh has exerted utter dominance over the record books in the 100 fly in all three courses. In addition to her long course achievements, she broke the world record in the short course meters 100 fly on three occasions at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest in December. Maggie Mac Neil owned the record at the start of the meet at 54.05 before Walsh clocked 53.24 in prelims, 52.87 in semifinals and 52.71 in the final. As for short course yards, Walsh has broken the all-time record four times, taking a mark once held by Kate Douglass at 48.46 down to 46.97.
