Gretchen Walsh and Katharine Berkoff Achieve Historic Swimming Feats at Nationals
Gretchen Walsh and Katharine Berkoff made headlines on Thursday as they recorded the second-fastest times in history for the 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke, respectively, at the national championships. Competing in Indianapolis, Walsh finished the 100m fly in a remarkable 54.76 seconds, just short of her own world record of 54.60. Earlier this year, she broke the world record twice, once at the Tyr Pro Series meet on May 3 and again at the Olympic Trials last June.
Walsh has now set the seven fastest times ever recorded in history, all within the past year. She is a significant 88 hundredths of a second quicker than the second-fastest swimmer, Swedish athlete Sarah Sjöström, who clocked 55.48 at the 2016 Olympics. www.90jili.com “I feel like my brain envisions people around me so I can chase them,” Walsh shared with Peacock about her dominant performances. “It’s hard to know how fast I’m going since I can’t see a clock. Honestly, I just enjoy pushing myself past boundaries I never thought were possible swerte99 online casino.”
Upcoming Competitions
Walsh secured a silver medal in the 100m fly at the Paris Games, finishing just four hundredths behind Torri Huske, who placed second on Thursday and will also join Walsh in the World Championships team. In Singapore this July and August, Walsh aims to capture her first individual title at a major international meet in a 50-meter pool. She is favored to excel in three events: the 50m fly, the 100m fly, and the 50m freestyle, where she is currently the fastest woman in the world this year. Meanwhile, Sjöström, who triumphed in the 50m and 100m freestyles in Paris, is taking the season off to prepare for her first child.
In the 50m backstroke, Berkoff posted an impressive time of 26. free casino 10097 seconds, smashing the American record of 27.10 seconds previously held by Regan Smith, who finished second in Thursday’s final. Berkoff achieved her goal of breaking the 27-second mark, falling just 11 hundredths shy of Australian Kaylee McKeown’s world record. She won a bronze medal in the Olympic 100m backstroke behind McKeown and Smith and, like Walsh, aspires for her first major international title in Singapore. luckyjili The 50m backstroke is set to make its Olympic debut in 2028 but has been part of the World Championships since 2001.
Highlights from the Championships
The Toyota U.S. Championships carry on with finals scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET, live on Peacock. In other notable results from Thursday, Olympic champion Bobby Finke clinched the men’s 400m individual medley over Olympic bronze medalist Carson Foster. Finke noted he might skip the 400m IM at the World Championships since the final coincides with the 1500m final session. He mentioned having a strategy in mind and required discussions with his coaches.
Emma Weyant secured victory in the women’s 400m IM by 2.41 seconds, finishing ahead of Katie Grimes, who, along with Weyant, found success in Paris with silver and bronze medals behind world record holder Summer McIntosh from Canada. Lilly King, a local star from Indiana, won the 50m breaststroke, marking what she says will be her final domestic meet of her career. King is a gold medalist in the 100m breast from the 2016 Olympics and a world champion across all breaststroke distances. Additionally, Shaine Casas celebrated his first career trials meet win in the 100m fly and later secured a spot in the 50m back with a runner-up finish.
Conclusion
The excitement continues to build at the U.S. Championships as more athletes aim to prove themselves on the national stage. Who will emerge victorious in the upcoming finals, and which competitors will secure their spots for the World Championships?