Latest news with #GretchenWalsh
Forbes
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Forbes
Gretchen Walsh Overcomes Illness To Win First Individual World Title
Singapore, Singapore - July 28: Gold for Gretchen Walsh of USA during the medal ceremony after ... More competing in the Women 100m Butterfly Final Swimming event on day 18 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at WCH Arena on July 28, 2025 in Singapore. (Photo by Albert ten Hove/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images) What a difference a day made for Gretchen Walsh. Twenty-four hours after being pulled from the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2025 World Aquatic Championships due to illness, she won her first individual long-course world title, getting her hands on the wall first in the women's 100-meter butterfly. In the final, Walsh, 22, challenged the world record she swam in May at the TYR Pro Swim in Fort Lauderdale, an in-season meet and Walsh's first as a professional swimmer. She stopped the clock for gold at 54.73 in Singapore, just .13 seconds away from her world record. The time is a championship record and the event's second-fastest performance in history. 'I'm over the moon,' Walsh told World Aquatics after the race. 'I'm really happy that when it mattered, I was able to do that and just get my hands on the wall.' During the first finals session at the competition on Sunday, Walsh qualified for the final in the 100-meter butterfly but pulled out of the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay final that concluded the session. 'I wanted to be on it so bad, but my body would not let me,' Walsh said in an interview with NBC Sports after her record-setting swim. 'I took the morning to rest, recover, knowing tonight was going to be a fight for me. I'm so happy with the result.' A spokesperson for USA Swimming confirmed on Sunday that the American team is dealing with 'acute gastroenteritis' that began affecting swimmers at the team's pre-meet training camp in Phuket, Thailand. USA Swimming did not confirm which swimmers were affected, but Walsh was not alone in pulling out of races on the first day of the competition. Torri Huske, the reigning 100-meter butterfly Olympic champion, pulled out of the event before the preliminary heats, though she raced on the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay. Claire Weinstein, another Olympian, skipped the 400-meter freestyle. On Monday, the United States was still looking for its first gold medal of the championships after getting shut out on the first night of racing. With illness making the rounds, the team needed a spark. Walsh's medal provided just that. It is also a pivotal moment in her career. Walsh has been one of the most successful swimmers in history in the short-course yards and meters pool, but it took a while for her to find her footing in long-course meters. She had her major breakout in long-course meters last summer when she first took over the 100-meter butterfly world record at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. It made her the heavy favorite for Olympic gold in Paris, but her teammate Huske was able to pass her in the Olympic final and the Americans went 1-2 on the podium with Walsh earning silver. NANTERRE, FRANCE - JULY 28: Gold Medalist Torri Huske (L) and Silver Medalist Gretchen Walsh (R) of ... More Team United States pose following the Swimming medal ceremony after the Women's 100m Butterfly Final on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 28, 2024 in Nanterre, France. (Photo by) Since the 2024 Olympics, Walsh has continued to showcase her speed as she rewrote the record books in short-course meters and yards in a range of events during her final year as a University of Virginia collegiate swimmer. But there were still boxes to check. Her 100-meter butterfly gold medal tonight marks the first time she has stood atop the podium at the Olympic or World Championship level in an individual event. Bringing the 100-meter butterfly world record to new heights—no other female swimmer has broken 55 seconds in the event—has brought a new type of pressure to deliver when the lights are brightest. And despite illness, she rose to that challenge. 'Having that title as the world record holder is a lot of pressure,' she acknowledged to World Aquatics. 'But I feel like I've gotten used to knowing that that's my best time, and that's just kind of what I have to shoot for every time I dive in.' 'I've gotten more and more comfortable with it [the pressure],' she continued. 'And even going into tonight, I knew that maybe it wasn't going to be a world record, but any time I would have been happy with if I touched first, because at meets like this, that's what matters most.' Walsh is also entered in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, and 50-meter butterfly at the competition and is a medal threat in all three events. The 2025 World Aquatic Championships run through Sunday, August 3.
Japan Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Japan Today
McIntosh wins again at swimming worlds as Yu, 12, just misses out
swimming By Andrew MCKIRDY Summer McIntosh bagged her second gold at the swimming world championships as a "fragile" Gretchen Walsh defied illness and 12-year-old Yu Zidi narrowly missed out on a medal on Monday. The 18-year-old Canadian McIntosh romped home in the 400m freestyle on Sunday's opening night in Singapore and gave another demonstration of her huge talent a day later in the 200m individual medley. She came home in 2 minutes, 06.69 seconds, with Alex Walsh of the United States second (2:08.58) and Canada's Mary-Sophie Harvey third (2:09.15). "Going into the race tonight my goal was to put my head on the wall first, so to get that done is good," said the teenage phenomenon. "I'm not super-happy with the time, but honestly, at a world championship, my goal is just to go as fast as I can." McIntosh will also race in the 400 meters medley, 200 butterfly and 800 freestyle in Singapore. She is on track to join Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win five individual titles at a single world championships. "Still happy with the gold and hoping to keep up my streak next time," she said. Yu was fourth in 2:09.21 in her first world championships final, having been fastest off the blocks and in third place before fading a little. The schoolgirl will also compete in Singapore in the 400m medley and 200m butterfly. "She's obviously phenomenally talented at such a young age and I think it will be interesting to see how she takes this meet," silver medallist Walsh said of the Chinese prodigy. Gretchen Walsh shook off a stomach bug to power to a dominant victory in the 100m butterfly. The world record holder took gold in 54.73 seconds -- the second-fastest time in history -- ahead of Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk (55.84) and Alexandria Perkins of Australia (56.33). The United States team has been hit with a bout of acute gastroenteritis and Walsh said she had been laid low heading into the race. "The last couple of days my body has been fragile," said the 22-year-old. "I've needed to give myself grace and luckily I had the morning to recover and rest and I used that. "That helped me enormously going into tonight." Walsh set the world record of 54.60 seconds in May. She said she had to "reevaluate my expectations" for the world championships after her battle with illness but surprised herself with her performance. "I'm over the moon," she said. "I'm really happy that when it mattered, I was able to do that and get my hands on the wall." China's Qin Haiyang set his sights on glory at Los Angeles 2028 after reeling in Olympic champion Nicolo Martinenghi to reclaim his 100 meters breaststroke crown. Qin recovered from a slow start to win in 58.23 seconds, beating Italy's Martinenghi (58.58) and Kyrgyzstan's Denis Petrashov (58.88). Qin swept all three breaststroke races at the 2023 world championships in Japan, breaking the 200 meters world record. But he crashed and burned at last year's Paris Olympics, finishing seventh after leading the 100 meters breaststroke final at the turn. "I have a lot of anticipation for LA 2028," said Qin, after the 26-year-old delivered China's first swimming gold medal of the championships. Li Bingjie won silver for China in the women's 400 meters freestyle on Sunday. France's Maxime Grousset came through at the death to win the 50 meters butterfly gold by a fingertip from Switzerland's Noe Ponti. The fast and furious race will appear at the Olympics for the first time at Los Angeles. © 2025 AFP
NBC Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Underwater Cam: Walsh wins 100m fly world title
Relive Gretchen Walsh's gold medal in the women's 100m butterfly at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore from an underwater perspective.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Backstroke superstar McKeown keen to find happy place
Australian backstroke star Kaylee McKeown has a chance to nab a world championship gold medal against her arch rival on Tuesday night, but she won't be satisfied unless she has fun while doing it. McKeown did what was needed on Monday night in qualifying second fastest for the 100m backstroke final at the world swimming championships in Singapore. Only one person was faster than McKeown in the semis - American Regan Smith. McKeown is the two-time Olympic champion in the 100m backstroke, but it's Smith who holds the current world record after posting a time of 57.13 seconds in 2024. That edged out McKeown's previous world record effort of 57.33. The pair's showdown in Singapore on Tuesday night is set to be huge, but McKeown doesn't want to adopt a win-at-all-costs mentality. "In Paris I really got consumed by the pressure and the nerves, especially the ones I put on myself," McKeown told Channel 9. "So I've really just taken a step back and I'm just trying to enjoy swimming again. "I love the sport and I don't want to ever lose that. So that's my focus for this week, just finding the love for it. "I don't care if I come last (or) first. I'm just here for a good time." Australia won two golds on the opening night after coming up trumps in the men's and women's 4x100m freestyle relays. Bronze was Australia's only reward on Monday, with Alexandria Perkins finishing third in the women's 100m butterfly in a race that was won by star American and world record holder Gretchen Walsh. Perkins' third-placed result was still enough for Australia to retain top spot on the medal standings with two gold, one silver and one bronze to their name. But Canada is right on their tail after 18-year-old superstar Summer McIntosh won her second gold medal of the meet, following up her 400m freestyle success with victory in the 200m individual medley on Monday night. McIntosh is aiming for five individual gold medals across the championships, and she'll take some beating if her early form is anything to go by. Australian Lani Pallister will be up against American great Katie Ledecky in the women's 1500m final on Tuesday night. Moesha Johnson, who won Olympic silver in the 10km open swim for Australia at the 2024 Games in Paris, is also in the 1500m final. Other finals on Tuesday night include the men's 200m freestyle, men's 100m backstroke, and women's 100m breaststroke. Queensland's Sam Short, who won silver in the 400m men's freestyle final on Sunday, will compete in the 800m freestyle heats on Tuesday.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Swimming worlds: Summer McIntosh wins 200 IM for second gold in as many days
Two days. Two gold medals. Summer McIntosh is off to a perfect start at the swimming world championships in her attempt to win five individual gold medals, a feat only achieved by American legend Michael Phelps. The 18-year-old Canadian took the 200-meter individual medley on Monday, clocking 2:06.69. The victory matched the gold she won Sunday in the 400 freestyle. Alex Walsh of the United States claimed the silver in 2:08.58 with bronze going to Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada in 2:09.15. The winning time trailed McIntosh's world record of 2:05.70. And she was not content. 'Going in tonight, my goal was to get my hand on the wall first,' McIntosh said. 'So to get that done is good. I'm not super happy with my time. But honestly, at a world championships, my goal is just to go as fast as I can against my competitors. Still happy with the gold and hoping to keep up my streak next time.' Yu Zidi, a Chinese 12-year-old, finished fourth in 2:09.21, just missing a medal as she astounds the swim world with her times. She is also due to compete in the 400 IM and 200 butterfly, probably her strongest events. McIntosh will chase three more golds in the 400 IM, 800 free and the 200 butterfly over the next six days in Singapore. Gretchen Walsh broke through on Monday with the first gold in Singapore for the United States, taking the 100 butterfly in 54.73. The silver medalist a year ago in Paris, Walsh was just off her world-record time of 54.60 set earlier this year. Roos Vanotterdijk of Belgium took silver in 55.84 and Alexandria Perkins of Australia claimed bronze in 56.33. Walsh acknowledged in a post-race interview at poolside that the American team had been hit with a bout of what team officials called 'acute gastroenteritis.' It was picked up at a training camp in Thailand prior to arrival in Singapore. U.S. officials have confirmed the outbreak but have given few details and did not name swimmer nor say how many were affected. 'With the illness that's been going on – I faced it back the last couple days – my body has just been fragile, and I think that I've needed to give myself grace,' Walsh said. 'Luckily, I had the morning to recover and rest, and I used that, and that helped me enormously going into tonight, so I tried to make the most of it. 'It was not easy, and I'm just really proud of myself,' Walsh added, thrilled to be under 55 seconds. 'It took a lot of guts. I just wanted to go out there and do it for my team, just represent the flag well. It came out of somewhere, but I'm really, really happy.' Walsh's older sister Alex was almost even with McIntosh after 150 meters, swimming a strong breaststroke leg to make it a race. 'I was really excited on the breaststroke leg,' she said. 'I could see her and I knew I was kind of gaining on her because breaststroke is my best stroke. I was really excited and, obviously coming home on the freestyle, that's definitely where my biggest weakness (is).' Two other finals wrapped up Monday's schedule. Qin Haiyang, the world champion in 2023, defeated Paris Olympic winner Nicolo Martinenghi of Italy in the 100 breaststroke. Qin clocked 58.23 to give China its first gold in Singapore with the Italian swimmer finishing in 58.58. Denis Petrashov of Kyrgyzstan took bronze in 58.88. 'I've been injured and it's not been easy to get back to my best,' Haiyang said. 'I'm at best at 70%. I'm probably lucky. This definitely helps with my confidence.' In the men's 50 butterfly, Maxime Grousset of France edged Noe Ponti of Switzerland. Grousset clocked 22.48 with Ponti finishing in 22.51. Thomas Ceccon of Italy took bronze in 22.67. In the four semi-finals, Paris Olympics bronze medalist Luke Hobson of the United States led 200 free qualifying (1:44.80), with Paris champion David Popovici of Romania in fourth (1:45.02). Hubert Kós of Hungary headed a very fast men's 100 backstroke in 52.21. American Regan Smith led the women's 100 backstroke (58.21) ahead of two-time Australian Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown (58.44). Kate Douglass of the United States swam a personal best in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.49) and will be the top seed in Tuesday's final.
