‘It’s Nuts:’ Kate Douglass 50 Free World Record Marks Staggering Progress
Kate Douglass wasn’t fully sure what her eyes were telling her Saturday night.
The scoreboard at Irvine’s Woollett Aquatic Center was saying 23.19 seconds in the 50 freestyle at the Pan Pacific Championships. But that’s not a number that computed for Douglass, who had barely cracked 23.6 before Saturday.
“I had to do a few double takes,” Douglass said after adding a second gold of the night in the medley relay to her two world records. “I was not really sure I was seeing that right because that time just seems like crazy fast to me. Even this morning, going 23.4 seemed crazy.”
Douglass had a historic day. The former world-record holder at 23.59 took back her mark from teammate Gretchen Walsh by going 23.49 in prelims. She lowered it in a head-to-head match with Walsh in finals to 23.19.
The swim was unquestionably the talk of the deck on the final night of four in Irvine.
“It’s nuts,” UVA training partner and Gretchen Walsh sister Alex Walsh said. “Just to watch her and Gretchen battle for that world record, it’s been really fun to watch. Obviously we’re very close. We’re great teammates, but that rivalry is always going to be there, and I think our relationship is really strong to where it doesn’t get in the way of our friendship.”
“Honestly, it’s exciting,” 50 free bronze medalist Meg Harris said. “It’s going to be a 22 soon. She’s on fire. Especially with the Europeans as well, they’re going so fast. Any time that gets put on the board at the moment is pretty incredible in women’s freestyle. So hopefully one day I’ll be able to put something incredible up there too.”
Behind Douglass in the final, Gretchen Walsh was second in 23.74. Harris took bronze in a best time of 23.89. Fourth was Taylor Ruck, resetting her Canadian record to 24.23. It’s progress across the board.
Gretchen Walsh was bummed not to add a best time to the mix. But she and Douglass own the top five times in history, with former world record holder Sarah Sjostrom with a monopoly on performances 6-12.
“I definitely think the pressure was kind of on ever since the morning, just like watching Kate break it before me,” Walsh said. “I feel like the world record battle is a pretty emotionally draining thing to be a part of. So I’m kind of happy to be the underdog now again, and looking forward to working on more things in that race and having fun with it. But I’m honestly so proud of all the improvement I’ve made in it this year.”
Among those caught up in the world record fever was Katie Ledecky. She was in the final stages of warming up for her 800 free, in which she was defeated by Lani Pallister. But she felt the energy generated by Douglass nonetheless.
“I was warming up and I was like about to start some of my pace kind of stuff,” Ledecky said. “And I swear, my 50 pace was so good because I was just so fired up. Swims like that got everyone excited, and we were all talking about it. And just to see what she did today … she’s become such a leader for our team, along with so many of those younger swimmers that are coming up, and really setting the tone for all of us. So it’s really fun.”
Douglass’ first priority upon seeing the time was to get in the pool and warmdown/up for the 200 breaststroke, in which she grabbed silver 18 minutes after the 50. She would add gold in the 400 medley relay to end the night.
But her first thought upon reflection on her world record was just how close she’s getting to 22 seconds. That didn’t seem like a possibility in the recent future. The first woman under 25 seconds (China’s Yang Wenyi) was in 1988. It took until 2008 to break 24 seconds via Libby Trickett. Through the super-suit revolution, the record moved 0.46 seconds from Inge de Bruijn in 2000 to Sjostrom in 2017. It’s moved 0.48 seconds under the auspices of Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass in nine years since.
“The 23.1 is scarily close to 22, and that’s just not something I thought that female sprinting was going to get towards anytime soon,” Douglass said. “So it’s pretty crazy.”
