When it comes to breaking swimming records, Gretchen Walsh is like a broken record.
But the two-time Olympic gold and silver medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics came up just short of breaking the world record in the 50-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals on Aug. 2 in Irvine, California.
The Harpeth Hall graduate won the race in 23.60 seconds, a sneeze shy of the 23.55 she swam June 28.
“I’ve had a great summer in that event already, and it’s not over yet,” Walsh said on the NBC Sports broadcast. “This is a great tune-up swim for (Pan Pacific Championships).”
What other world records does Gretchen Walsh hold?
Walsh also holds the world long course record in the 100-meter butterfly (54.33 seconds), and world short course records in the 50-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterly and the 100-meter individual medley.
Is Gretchen Walsh the fastest female swimmer in the world?
Walsh owns the 16 fastest times in history in the 100-meter butterfly.
Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Gretchen Walsh falls just short of breaking own world record in 50 free
