Gretchen Walsh smashes NCAA and US Open record in 50 m freestyle

History was made on Wednesday as Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh became the first woman to go under 20 seconds in a 50 freestyle. Walsh swam a 19.95 in the second leg of Virginia’s 200-yard freestyle relay. It’s the first time any woman has gone under 20 seconds in a 50-free.

Walsh dominated the 100-yard butterfly final from the start and shattered three records in the event – the American, US Open, and NCAA. Kyle Sockwell, the president and CEO of Swimming Twitter, lauded Walsh in a post. Virginia Sports highlighted Walsh’s achievements saying it was the third NCAA and American record that she has held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center this week.

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Walsh would go on to swim a 20.57 in the individual event, resetting the NCAA and US Open record that she had set earlier that morning in prelims. The junior now owns the top three times in the event, having also tied Maggie MacNeil with the third-fastest time.

She had previously gone a 20.19 split on a relay last month, although that time was unsuited. That time marks the second-fastest relay split ever.

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Before Walsh, Anna Hopkin had been the closest to a sub-20 split, going 20.27 on a relay for Arkansas in 2020. The fastest that Abbey Weitzeil – the first woman to go sub-21 in a 50-free split – ever went was 20.44.

However, this is not all and this record is just the tip of the iceberg as Walsh wants to be faster. The young swimmer is also set to create ripples at the Paris Olympics. Her speed and enthusiasm set her apart from her competitors. Over the past year, Walsh has emerged at the top of collegiate swimming events.

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