Gretchen Walsh on Saturday shattered the 100m butterfly world record in the semi-finals of the US Olympic trials, where freestyle great Katie Ledecky punched her ticket to a fourth Olympics.
Walsh, coming off a record-setting collegiate season for the University of Virginia, clocked 55.18 seconds to eclipse the previous record of 55.48 seconds set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjoestroem at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The 21-year-old is trying to make her first Olympic team after winning medley relay gold along with freestyle relay silver and 50m butterfly bronze at the last year’s World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.
Photo: AFP
She electrified the crowd of more than 20,000 at Lucas Oil Arena, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, in the first event of the opening finals session at the nine-day meeting — where only the top two finishers in each event can qualify for the Paris Games.
US record-holder Torri Huske had made a run at Sjoestroem’s mark in the first semi-final, hitting 50m under the world record pace before finishing in 55.79 seconds.
Walsh, who had never broken 56 seconds until she posted 55.94 in the heats on Saturday morning, then roared through the second semi-final, staring at the scoreboard in disbelief as the time flashed up.
Photo: AP
“It’s such a surreal experience,” said Walsh, who emphatically shed her reputation as a short-course specialist.
“I don’t know when I’m going to be thinking I just did that. I’m trying to convince myself that just happened — I’m just in awe,” she said.
“I’m ready for tomorrow night,” added Walsh, who has her sights on securing her place in the team for Paris in Sunday’s final in a field that includes Tokyo Olympic medalist Regan Smith, who was third-fastest in the semis in 55.92 seconds.
Meanwhile seven-time Olympic gold medalist Ledecky, who burst onto the international scene as a 15-year-old with her victory in the 800m freestyle at the 2012 London Olympics, is Paris bound after winning the 400m freestyle in three minutes, 58.35 seconds.
Paige Madden, a finalist in Tokyo, was second in four minutes, 2.08 seconds.
Ledecky’s time was her fastest since 2022. Even though she is still the world’s dominant force in the 800m and 1500m freestyle, the 27-year-old is to arrive in Paris chasing Australian world record-holder Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh in the 400m freestyle.
Ledecky counts six individual victories among her seven Olympic golds — more than any other female swimmer.
With two more golds she can surpass compatriot Jenny Thompson for most total Olympic gold medals including relays.
South Korean giants T1, led by “Faker,” won their fifth League of Legends (LoL) world championship crown in London on Saturday, beating China’s Bilibili Gaming (BLG) in a thrilling final. The teams were locked at 2-2 at a packed O2 arena, but T1 clinched game five to make it back-to-back titles after nearly four hours of tense action. China’s BLG started strongly, taking the first game before T1 struck back to level. The Chinese team pulled ahead again at 2-1 only for their opponents to hit back again and go on to take the decider. Faker, who won the Most
Amber Glenn overcame a fall and her own doubts to win a maiden Grand Prix figure skating title on Saturday at the Grand Prix de France. The American skater had the lead from Friday’s short program. That and the support of the crowd got her through a tough free skate in which she fell on a triple flip and put a hand onto the ice to steady herself on two other jumps. “I didn’t feel that great out there today, but I really tried, and the audience really got me through that last half when I was doubting myself,” Glenn
The Major League Baseball World Series trophy is headed to Los Angeles, but the party is extending all the way to Japan. People milled around local train stations yesterday morning in Tokyo as newspaper extras were ready to roll off the presses, proclaiming Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as world champions along with their Dodgers teammates after a stirring Game 5 victory over the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old is a national hero in Japan whose face adorns billboards and TV adverts all over the country. Ohtani this year became the first player in history to hit 50 home runs and
WORLD SERIES: ‘The individuals that were involved in that last night was a very small segment of the east Los Angeles community,’ the Los Angeles county sheriff said Rowdy crowds took to the streets of Los Angeles after the LA Dodgers won the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, setting a city bus on fire, breaking into stores and lighting fireworks. A dozen arrests were reported by police on Thursday, but officials said that most fans celebrated peacefully. Video showed revelers throwing objects at police in downtown LA as sirens blared and officers told them to leave the area on Wednesday night after the Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the MLB World Series at Giants Stadium in New York. Another video showed someone standing atop
RSS