Gretchen Walsh emerges as top seed in women’s 100 butterfly prelims with sixth-fastest time in history at US Olympic Swimming trials

Gretchen Walsh of the United States has made a splash in her swimming career as she has achieved the tag of sixth fastest swimmer of all time following the first 100m butterfly sub-56 finish of her career on day 1 of the US Olympic Swimming Trials.

Walsh is one of America's most promising young swimming talents, as she already holds two world junior records in the mixed 4x100 freestyle relay and the mixed 4x100 medley relay. Additionally, the 21-year-old athlete is a six-time NCAA Olympic gold medalist competing for the University of Virginia.

In 2016, Walsh became the youngest swimmer to make it to the US Olympic swimming trials at the tender age of 13, and she also broke the under-14 National Age Group record for 50-yard freestyle.

Now, at the 2024 swimming trials that are underway in Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana, Gretchen Walsh clocked in a blazing finish of 55.94 in the 100-meter butterfly. She broke the US Open and American records by more than a second as a result, and it was also her first career sub-56 finish.

The aforementioned finish was two tenths shy of her previous best time of 56.14 that she clocked at the San Antonio Pro Swim Series this year in April. With this, Nashville added another feather to her swimming crown, becoming the seventh female swimmer in history to achieve a sub-56 finish.

All of her recent performances in the pool are fueling anticipation that she could be an asset for Team USA at the Paris Olympics 2024 if she continues the same level of excellence at the trials.

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When Gretchen Walsh raised the bar after breaking the 100-m butterfly NCAA record

Team USA Olympic Portrait Shoot

Gretchen Walsh is being looked at as one of the promising faces to join Team USA for the Paris Olympics 2024, happening in July, due to her recent athletic display at various competitions.

One such performance came at the NCAA championships in March this year, when Walsh won the women's 100-yard butterfly event, clocking 47.42 seconds, a national, US Open, and NCAA record. She also recorded the fastest reaction time off the blocks during the heat, which was a tremendous 0.72 seconds, and kept going at the same pace until winning the race.

With this, the swimmer shattered her own record of 48.25 seconds and helped her Virginia Cavaliers swimming and diving team claim their fourth NCAA DI women's swimming and diving championships on the trot.