The NCAA Championships are raging on in Athens, Georgia, and the country’s swimming celebrities are setting the water on fire. After an explosive first day, the University of Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh once again is back at it on Day 2. The opening 200m medley event yesterday saw Walsh storming into the history books with her 22.10 split, and now the 2023 world champion has done it again – this time in the 50m free race.

In 2019, Walsh bagged the gold medal in the 50m free event at the World Junior Championships, and the second day of the national championships saw her showing exactly what makes her a commendable force in the short course. Edging past her collegiate teammate Jasmine Nocentini and North Carolina’s Katherine Berkoff, Gretchen finished the free event in 20.37, setting the benchmark once again.

In a recent post on X (previously known as Twitter) by the official Virginia Swimming and Dive account, Walsh’s blitzing performance was shared emphatically. “𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃 – 𝟓𝟎 𝐅𝐫𝐞e…𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗦𝗛 𝗗𝗢𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗧 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡!!!“, reads the caption of the post. The morning’s prelims saw Walsh hinting at her determination to clinch a podium finish with 20.57 on the clock. However, the 50m free final event saw her pushing herself to the brink.

“She breaks her record from this morning with a 20.37 for the NCAA, American, and US Open record!!!“, elaborates the post further, taking a cue from the happenings from the morning. One commentator reminds the fans that 20.41 is the standing record in women’s D1 50m events, only to go berserk with jubilation when Gretchen comes in with 0.04 seconds to spare. Another Twitter post, moments after Walsh’s latest feat, highlighted all the records she broke on her way to the top. “Record Record.“, notes the post, and it looks like some bigger fish to fry is also on the tables for Walsh.

Bigger things beckon the Virginia swimmer

Only yesterday, Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström mentioned that she will be putting all her eggs in one basket as she prepares hard for the 50m freestyle event. With the Olympics only five months away, the world’s top swimmers are gearing up to bring out their A-game, and the swimming icon is no different. However, with Walsh breaking NCAA records in both the prelims and the finals on Day 2 of the nationals event, Sjöström may have her work cut for her.

Gretchen Walsh vs Katie Ledecky: Is Freshly Made Dynasty Dethroning the Long Distance Queen?

The Swede’s best record stands at 23.61, one can speculate a thrilling showdown between the two in Paris later this year. Gretchen’s latest 20.37 record saw her break Maggie MacNeil’s 2023 record four times now. With that, Gretchen also boasts the top five all-time fastest 50m freestyle records. As the Olympics approach, what do you think Walsh has up her sleeve to trump her jaw-dropping performance at the NCAA Championships?

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