SwimSwam Gretchen Walsh Rewrites Record Books At Blistering Short Course World Championships

Walsh On Fire At Short Course Worlds: Gretchen Walsh was dominant at last week's Short Course World Championships, breaking 11 world records and winning seven gold medals in a tour de force performance in Budapest.

Also: All of the highlights from Short Course Worlds, Winter Juniors, and Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand are named World Aquatics Swimmers of the Year.

Walsh Highlights Dominant U.S. Performance At SC Worlds

Gretchen Walsh broke a world record in the opening session of the Short Course World Championships and didn't look back from there, going on to set a total of 11 all-time marks over six days of racing in Budapest, winning seven gold medals along the way.

Walsh won five individual golds, setting world records in the women's 50 free (22.83), 50 fly (24.02 – 23.94 in semis), 100 fly (52.71) and 100 IM (55.11), and adding a Championship and American Record in the 100 free (50.31).

She also contributed to the U.S. women setting world records in the 4x100 free (3:25.01) and 4x100 medley (3:40.41) relays, the latter smashing the world record by nearly four seconds.

• See all of Walsh's record-breaking swims here.

With Walsh leading the way, the United States topped the medal table with 18 gold and 39 total medals, a staggering number considering only three other nations won double-digit medals. The U.S. also claimed the World Aquatics Trophy, which is awarded to the top-performing nation based on a point-scoring system.

Also winning multiple individual golds and breaking world records for the American women were Regan Smith and Kate Douglass, who combined to win five individual titles.

Smith swept the backstroke events, setting new world records across the board. She set new all-time marks in the finals of the 50 back (25.23) and 200 back (1:58.04), and won the 100 back in a Championship Record time of 54.55.

At the end of the meet in the 4x100 medley relay, Smith led off the Americans in a time of 54.02, lowering the 100 back world record of 54.41 she set in October on the World Cup circuit.

Douglass set new world records en route to winning the women's 200 breast (2:12.50) and 200 IM (2:01.63), with the 200 breast lowering her own record set in October on World Cup circuit (2:12.72), while the previous 200 IM record of 2:01.86 had stood since 2014 from Katinka Hosszu.

Other American World Titles

• Jack Alexy won gold in the men's 100 free in a time of 45.38, having set a new American Record of 45.05 leading off the 4x100 free relay earlier in the meet.
• In the men's 4x100 free relay, Alexy combined with Luke Hobson, Kieran Smith and Chris Guiliano for a time of 3:01.66, breaking the world record of 3:02.75 set by Italy in 2022.
• Hobson had a pair of monster swims in the 200 free, which started in the men's 4x200 free relay. Hobson led off in 1:38.91, breaking Paul Biedermann's world record in the 200 free of 1:39.37, set in 2009, which was the oldest SCM mark on the books. Hobson was followed by Carson Foster, Shaine Casas and Smith as they clocked 6:40.51 to smash the world record of 6:44.12 set by the U.S. in 2022.
• Hobson followed up by re-lowering the world record in the individual 200 free, clocking 1:38.61 to win gold and bring the world record down another three-tenths.
• Casas won gold in the men's 200 IM in a time of 1:49.51, breaking Ryan Lochte's American Record of 1:49.63 from 2012.
• The American women swept the relays, setting world records in all three. Douglass, Katharine Berkoff, Alex Shackell and Walsh set a new all-time mark in the 4x100 free, clocking 3:25.01 to lower the Australian world record of 3:25.43 from 2022.
• In the 4x200 free relay, it was Alex Walsh, Paige Madden, Katie Grimes and Claire Weinstein combined for a time of 7:30.13, breaking Australia's world record of 7:30.87 set two years ago. Weinstein notably anchored in a blistering 1:50.31.
• The 4x100 medley relay saw Smith break the world record in the 100 back, and then she was followed by Lilly King, G. Walsh and Douglass as they finished in 3:40.41, obliterating the mark of 3:44.35 set by the U.S. team in 2022.

MCINTOSH, PONTI HEADLINE OTHER RECORD PERFORMANCES IN BUDAPEST

Along with Walsh, Smith and Douglass, Summer McIntosh made it four female swimmers at Worlds to set individual world records in multiple events, doing so in the women's 400 free, 200 fly and 400 IM.

McIntosh clocked 3:50.25 in the 400 free, breaking Li Bingjie's mark of 3:51.30 from 2022, and followed up by downing Mireia Belmonte's 10-year-old world record of 1:59.61 in 1:59.32.

McIntosh then took down another Belmonte record in the 400 IM, touching in 4:15.48 to obliterate Belmonte's 4:18.94 from 2017. McIntosh closed out her individual program in the 200 back, winning silver behind Smith in 1:59.96 to set a new World Junior and Canadian Record.

Also breaking world records at the meet individually were Noe Ponti in the men's 50 and 100 fly and Jordan Crooks in the men's 50 free.

Ponti clocked 21.43 in the semis of the 50 fly to lower his own world record of 21.50, and then got down to 21.32 to win the final.

In the final of the 100 fly, the Swiss native put up a time of 47.71 to take down Caeleb Dressel's world record of 47.78 set in 2020, becoming just the second swimmer in history under 48 seconds.

Crooks lowered Dressel's world record of 20.16 in the heats of the men's 50 free, clocking 20.08, and then became the first swimmer sub-20 in the semis, producing a stunning time of 19.90. Crooks went on to win the final in 20.19.

The other world record that went down came at the hands of Neutral Athlete 'B', the team comprised of Russian swimmers, which featured Miron Lifintsev, Kirill Prigoda, Andrei Minakov and Egor Kornev combining for a time of 3:18.68 to lower the world record of 3:18.98 set by both the Americans and Australians at the 2022 SC Worlds.

Lifintsev also set World Junior Records en route to golds in the men's 50 back (22.47) and 100 back (48.76).

Other Notable Performances:

• Olympic champion Hubert Kos claimed the SC world title in the men's 200 back, touching in 1:45.65 to set a new Championship and European Record while narrowly missing the world record by two one-hundredths, with Mitch Larkin having gone 1:45.63 in 2015.
• China's Qin Haiyang swept the men's 50 (25.42) and 100 breast (55.47), setting new Asian and Championship Records in the latter.
• Qin's countrymate Tang Qianting won the women's 100 breast in 1:02.38, having set a new Asian Record of 1:02.37 in the semis.
• Canadian Ilya Kharun won the men's 200 fly in 1:48.24, which ties for the second-fastest swim ever, trailing only the 1:46.85 set by Tomoru Honda in 2022. Kharun's swim ties Daiya Seto's Championship Record and stands as a Commonwealth, Americas and Canadian Record.
• Australia's Lani Pallister won the women's 800 free in 8:01.95, setting a new Championship and Australian Record and defending her title.

See the final prize money standings here.

NATIONAL AGE GROUP RECORDS FALL AT WINTER JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Four swimmers scored National Age Group Records at USA Swimming's Winter Junior Championships last week, with the East competition running in Greensboro, N.C., and the West edition being held in Austin, Texas.

East Highlights

Thomas Heilman and Charlotte Crush took the East Championships by storm, winning multiple events and combining for three NAG records.

Heilman, 17, set a pair of NAG records in the boys' 17-18 age group, hitting new marks in the boys' 100 fly (43.86) and 200 fly (1:38.95). He also won the 50 free (19.26) and 200 IM (1:41.26), and set a PB in the 200 free (1:32.26) leading off the Cavalier Aquatics' 800 free relay.

Crush, 16, set a NAG record for 15-16 girls in the 100 back, touching in 49.46 leading off the Lakeside 400 medley relay to not only break her previous record of 49.53, but also matching Claire Curzan's NAG record in the 17-18 age group.

After winning the individual 100 back (50.01), Crush went on to set a lifetime best of 1:48.69 in the 200 back, ranking her 2nd all-time in the 15-16 age group behind Curzan. Crush added a win in the 100 fly (50.13), a runner-up finish in the 100 free (47.85) and a 3rd-place finish in the 50 free (22.04) to win the girls' High Point Award.

Sweeping the girls' 50 and 100 free was Laker Swim's Rylee Erisman, who at 15, broke the girls' 15-16 NAG record in the 100 free in a time of 46.69, cracking Curzan's previous record of 47.23.

Erisman also won the 50 free (21.62) and was the runner-up to Crush in the 100 back (51.36).

Baylor Stanton won the High Point Award winner on the boys' side, topping the field in the 100 back (47.07), 200 back (1:40.89) and 400 IM (3:41.50), the latter marking a new personal best.

West Highlights

Setting a new NAG record at the West meet was Mikayla Tan, the Crow Country Club Sharks product who clocked 2:09.58 in the 200 breast, downing the girls' 13-14 NAG of 2:10.22 set by Allie Szekely back in 2012.

The 14-year-old Tan was 3rd in the 200 breast final, and also took 5th with a PB of 1:00.03 in the 100 breast, missing the NAG held by Alexis Wenger by just 0.01.

Teagan O'Dell and Maximus Williamson walked away with the High Point Awards at the meet, with O'Dell winning the girls' 200 free (1:42.46), 100 back (50.70), 200 back (1:49.16) and 200 IM (1:52.61), setting best times across the board. Her 200 free best time came on the 800 free relay. where she led off Mission Viejo in 1:42.27.

Williamson won the boys' 50 free (19.36), 100 free (41.96), 200 free (1:42.24), 100 back (46.70) and 200 fly (1:42.17) while placing 3rd in the 200 IM.

See a full recap of the top West performances here.

Marchand, McIntosh Named World Aquatics Swimmers of the Year

World Aquatics has named Leon Marchand and Summer McIntosh as its 2024 Swimmers of the Year following the conclusion of the Short Course World Championships in Budapest.

Marchand's year was headlined by his stunning performance on home soil at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, winning four gold medals in the men's 200 breast, 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM. He also won silver on the French men's 4x100 medley relay.

The 22-year-old followed up by dominating the World Cup circuit in the fall, winning the overall men's title, and had plans to compete at Short Course Worlds before opting out at the end of November.

McIntosh won three gold medals in Paris, topping the women's 200 fly, 200 IM and 400 IM, and added a silver medal in the women's 400 free. The Canadian broke her own world record in the 400 IM earlier in the year at the Canadian Olympic Trials (4:24.38).

The 18-year-old followed up by winning three gold and one silver medal at the Short Course World Championships in Budapest, setting new world records en route to wins in the women's 400 free, 200 fly and 200 IM.

Read more here.

Quick Hits

• U.S. Olympian Luke Whitlock is leaving the University of Florida after one semester of his freshman year, returning to his home club, the Fishers Area Swimming Tigers, to train in the spring of 2025.
• Wawasee High School senior Julie Mishler set a new National High School Record in the girls' 50 free at a dual meet on Tuesday, Dec. 10, clocking 21.56 to lower Gretchen Walsh's previous record of 21.59. Mishler broke Walsh's overall high school record while also downing Rylee Erisman's Public High School Record of 21.61 set in November.
• Shima Taghavi broke numerous Canadian NAG records for 11-12 girls and Madison Kryger was a dominant force, winning all six of her events at the Ontario Junior International meet in Toronto. See full coverage here.
• Mollie O'Callaghan cracked 1:00 in the women's 100 back and one of Mitch Larkin's Aussie age records fell by the wayside at the Queensland Championships (LCM) in Brisbane.
• Cody Miller says that he received his solidarity payments from the International Swimming League (ISL) on Dec. 14, three years following the conclusion of the 2021 season.
• Gabby Rose continued to turn back the clock, as the 47-year-old broke 1:00 for the first time in the women's 100 breaststroke (SCY) at the TST Southern Pacific Invite.

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Gretchen Walsh Finishes Short Course Worlds With $290K (Final Prize Money Update)

Thomas Heilman Swims 1:38.95 200 Fly, Breaks 17-18 NAG By Over A Second

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US Olympian Luke Whitlock Returning To Fishers For Spring Semester After Fall At Florida