Gretchen Walsh continues American record run at swimming nationals
Gretchen Walsh broke an American swimming record for the fourth time over the last five weeks, winning the 50m butterfly at the Toyota U.S. Championships on Wednesday.
Walsh clocked 24.66 seconds in Indianapolis, lowering her national record of 24.93 from May 2 and qualifying for the World Championships in Singapore in July and August.
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Walsh is the second-fastest woman in history globally in the event behind Swede Sarah Sjöström, who owns the world record of 24.43.
The 50m butterfly makes its Olympic debut in 2028 and has been on the World Championships program since 2001.
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Walsh is also the fastest woman in history in the 100m butterfly, having lowered her own world and American records twice on May 3. She'll swim that at nationals on Thursday (finals at 7 p.m. ET, live on Peacock).
Also Wednesday, Olympic bronze medalist Luke Hobson won the men's 200m freestyle in 1:43.73 and became the second-fastest American in history behind Michael Phelps and fifth fastest ever globally. It was also the fastest time ever in a U.S. pool, dipping under Phelps' time from the 2008 Olympic Trials.
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In the prelims, 16-year-old Luka Mijatovic swam the fastest 200m free ever for somebody that young (1:45.92), according to World Aquatics' database. Olympic champion David Popovici of Romania went faster at an older 16.
Mijatovic, the second-youngest man at the 2024 Olympic Trials, also went faster than Phelps' national age group record for 17- and 18-year-olds. Mijatovic ended up eighth in the final.
Claire Weinstein swam the world's best time in 2025 in the women's 200m free — 1:55.92 — to edge Katie Ledecky by 34 hundredths. Weinstein, eighth at the Olympics, also came in ahead of Ledecky at the 2023 nationals as the pair have gone one-two at four consecutive trials meets.
Ledecky said before these nationals that she doesn't plan to swim the 200m free at worlds. She also dropped it from her schedule in 2022, 2023 and 2024, but still plans to be part of the 4x200m free relay.
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Claire Curzan swam a personal best to win the 200m backstroke by 75 hundredths over American record holder Regan Smith. Curzan swept the backstrokes at the February 2024 World Championships, then missed the Paris Olympic team by seven hundredths.
Jack Aikins took the men's 200m back in a personal best 1:54.25, one year after missing the Olympic team by one spot in both backstroke events. His time would have won the 2024 Olympic gold by one hundredth.
Olympic champ Kate Douglass took the 200m breaststroke by one second over former University of Virginia teammate Alex Walsh (Gretchen's older sister).
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