Gretchen Walsh gives illness-slowed U.S. team its first gold at swimming worlds

New York Times

7 days ago

Gretchen Walsh came out with a big smile, waving to the crowd. Just a day earlier, she had been pulled from the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay final at these swimming world championships due to an illness, but now the American looked ready. Then she swam like it, too.
Walsh threatened her own world record in the women's 100-meter butterfly final in Singapore, winning in 54.73 to capture her first individual gold medal in a long-course (50-meter) pool and the first gold for the U.S. at these world championships.
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On Sunday, Walsh qualified for the final in the 100 fly but was then removed from the relay and replaced by Erin Gemmell. USA Swimming said it was 'illness related' as the American team has dealt with a stomach bug tracing back to their pre-worlds training camp in Thailand. The Americans took silver in that relay.
'I wanted to be on it so bad, but my body would not let me,' Walsh said in an interview with Peacock after Monday's gold-medal win. 'I took the morning to rest, recover, knowing tonight was going to be a fight for me. I'm so happy with the result.'
Walsh set the world record in the 100 fly at least year's U.S. Olympic trials, a breakout moment for a swimmer who had been labeled as a specialist in short-course pools (25-yard), which produce faster times with the increased turns and time underwater.
At the Paris Olympics, though, she was beaten to the wall by U.S. teammate Torri Huske, who withdrew from this event before Sunday's preliminary heats.
In May, Walsh set the 100 fly world record twice more on the same day at a meet in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but still had yet to pull off a swim like that on a huge stage.
On Monday, Walsh wouldn't be denied. She was ahead of her world-record pace and more than a half-second ahead of the field at the turn, then charged in for a dominant win of over a second. Her 54.73 time was the second-fastest ever in the event, behind only her second world-record swim that day in Fort Lauderdale. Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk took silver in 55.84. Australia's Alexandria Perkins won bronze in 56.33.
'My mind is thinking, 'Do not let these people catch you,'' Walsh told Peacock. 'I've been working so hard on staying strong to the end, and I just wanted to do that here.'
Earlier Monday, in the men's 100-meter breaststroke final, China's Qin Haiyang produced a sparkling last 50 meters to flip a 0.17-second deficit at the turn into a half-second win, finishing in 58.23. Italy's Nicolo Martinenghi finished in second in 58.58, with Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan in third at 58.88.
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Summer McIntosh is scheduled to compete later in the women's 200-meter individual medley (IM) final. She won gold Sunday in the 400-meter freestyle and is seeking to win five individual golds at this world championships, a feat only Michael Phelps has accomplished. The men's 50-meter butterfly final is also scheduled for Monday.
In non-finals races, American Kate Douglas posted the top time in the women's 100-meter breaststroke semifinals, finishing in 1:05.49. Lilly King, the gold medalist in the event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, finished ninth and just missed the final.
(Photo of Gretchen Walsh: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)