“I think I am capable of more in the race”- Gretchen Walsh sends a strong message after shattering the world record and three American records

Gretchen Walsh has yet again proven why she's one of the best swimmers competing right now. Participating at a Virginia vs Florida dual meet in Charlottesville, the American went on a record-breaking spree that saw her set a new world record and three new national records.

For Walsh, 2024 has been an incredible year, with the youngster winning four medals at the Paris Olympics upon her debut at the Games. Now, she's back in the NCAA circuit and is only getting better.

Competing at the Virginia vs. Florida meet on Friday, Walsh started her campaign with a 25.37s lead-off in Virginia’s 200m medley. With this time she beat teammate Claire Curzan’s American record of 25.54 and moved into the top three on the all-time list. From there, Gretchen Walsh went on to clock a 54.89s in the 100m backstroke, becoming the first American woman under the 55-second threshold and tying for second on the all-time list.

Speaking about her performances in the 50m and 100m backstroke to the media, Walsh explained that she hadn't been focused on breaking any records before the meet.

“So today, we started off our meet against Florida with the 200 medley relay. I led off with the 50 backstroke and broke the American record in that. Leading into this meeting I didn't look at any of my records but I just kind of wanted to see what I could do. We suited up today wearing racing suits and I just wanted to swim as fast as I could for our team. So I was happy with that time, but I obviously didn't know I had done it until after the race. So that was a surprise.”

She went on to add that she felt she was capable of faster times in the 100m backstroke, saying,

“Then I had the 100m backstroke where I also broke an American record in that. Once again, I didn't know what the time was. I think I am capable of more in the race. I feel like I'm getting used to the whole short course speeders thing, so we'll see. There is more to come there, so I'm excited about that.”

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Gretchen Walsh on her 50m freestyle and 100m individual medley performances

Gretchen Walsh at the Paris Olympics - Source: Getty

After her incredible performances in the 50m and 100m backstroke, Gretchen Walsh then went on to set a new American record in the 50m freestyle and then moved on to shatter the 100m individual medley world record.

The 21-year-old clocked 23.10s in the 50m free, beating Abbey Weitzel’s record of 23.44s by a fair margin. In the 100m IM, Walsh became the first woman in history to cross the 56-second barrier as she set a new world record of 55.98s.

Speaking on her performances in the two races, the swimmer said,

“I had the 50m free very quickly after the 100 back, I broke the American record in that and I think it was less than two tenths off the world record so something to aim for in the future. I was supposed to do the 100m free but I scratched it so that I could focus on the 100 IM and I ended up breaking the world record. So it was a pretty successful four events of my day.”

After her record-breaking spree in Charlottesville, Gretchen Walsh will most likely return to the pool on November 1 for the Virginia vs. North Carolina meet that will be held in Chapel Hill.