It has been a meet full of Pan Pacific Championship records for Gretchen Walsh and the U.S. women.
On Night Three from Irvine, California, Walsh threw down another one, crushing the 100 butterfly in 55.15.
Walsh now has the top 18 swims in the history of the event, which isn’t surprising the way she has progressed into one of the world’s most versatile and dominant sprinters.
But the top 18 is starting to sound like a Ledecky stat, especially in an international meet like the Pan Pacific Championships.
Walsh crushed a field of Olympic medalists during the prelims and the finals, showcasing that dominance in her first international meet on home soil. It also makes it even more impressive that she is able to throw down swims like that when battling Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske, and Olympic medalists Yu Yiting, Alexandria Perkins and Taylor Ruck.
Then again, she knows she has to be at her best to top a field of this caliber.
In the final, Walsh took an early lead and turned at 25.16, ahead of Ruck and Huske.
Walsh pulled away on the back half and won in 55.15 to break the meet record.
Ruck won the silver in 56.71 and Perkins was third in 56.75. Huske was in 56.93 and Yiting at 57.17.
