Gretchen Walsh breaks 56 for the first time and makes 100 preliminary matches

U.S. Olympic Trials, Day 1 Preliminaries: Gretchen Walsh Breaks 56 for First Time, Speeds Up 100 Fly Preliminaries for Open Competition

During this past college season, University of Virginia swimmer Gretchen Walsh lowered the American and U.S. Open records in the 100-yard butterfly by more than a second as she put on a show in the sprint events at the ACC and NCAA championships. Today, she demonstrates that improvement in the long course as she attempts to qualify for her first Olympic team. In April, Walsh clocked 56.14 to move into the top 10 all-time in the event, and now she’s broken the 56-second mark for the first time.

In the first event of the U.S. Olympic Trials, Walsh clocked 55.94, shaving two tenths off his previous best time and placing sixth on the all-time list. Walsh got ahead of Dana Vollmer to become the second fastest American ever in this event, behind only the 55.64 who Torri Huske swam to win gold at the 2022 World Championships. Walsh reaffirmed her status as favorite to qualify for her first Olympic team in Sunday’s final.

But don’t count out Huske, who is off to a strong start in 2024 after a slightly disappointing performance at last year’s World Championships that earned him a bronze medal in his signature event. Huske clocked 55.68 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio in April for the best time in the world this year, making her the only swimmer to break 56 this year before Walsh’s best time Saturday morning.

Swimming in lane four in the final heat of the event, Huske took a significant lead in her heat, as is her style, and she finished in 56.26 for the second-fastest time of the morning. Notably, the time is already well ahead of the mark Huske swam during his bronze medal run at last year’s Worlds (56.61).

Regan Smith, the favorite to win the 200 fly as well as both backstrokes in Indianapolis, is considered a wild card in the 100 fly, having posted a best time of 56.26 earlier this year, jumping to 5th all-time in this test among the Americans. . Swimming in lane four of the first ranked circle heat, Smith was lagging behind Emma SticklenNCAA champion in the 200 yard fly for the last two years, at the 50 meter mark before closing under 30 seconds and entering the wall at 56.68.

Two swimmers from the Indianapolis area occupied the next two qualifying spots in the event. Alex Shackela 17-year-old swimmer from Carmel considered a serious contender to qualify for the Olympic team in the 200 butterfly and free relay, beat her best time by 15 hundredths in the preliminaries by qualifying fourth in 57.07 while as a former swimmer from Carmel Kelly Pash went 57.66 for fifth place.

from Wisconsin Beata Nelson placed sixth in 57.68, three tenths slower than her seeding time, while Claire Curzan, runner-up to Huske in this event at the 2021 Olympic Trials, finished seventh in 58.17. Curzan is capable of being much faster in later events as she has a best time of 56.20, and she was as fast as 56.61 this year when she won silver at the World Championships in Doha in February.

Abby Arens finished eighth in 58.19, closely followed by Sticklen (58.22), Lillie Nordmann (58.38) and Lea Shackley (58.47). Josephine Fuller (58.56), Annika Parkhé (58.58), Olivia Bray (58.67), Charlotte’s Favorite (58.68) and Dakota Luther (58.73) were the other qualifiers for the semi-finals. Notably, five of the top 16 swimmers represent Longhorn Aquatics: Smith, Pash, Sticklen, Bray and Luther.