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Gretchen Walsh Swims Fastest Flying Start Of All-Time 100 Free With 45.17

2024 WOMEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN’S 400 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY – TIMED FINALS

  • NCAA Record: 3:05.84 – Virginia (K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh, 2023)
  • Meet Record: 3:05.84 – Virginia (K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh, 2023)
  • American Record: 3:05.84 – Virginia (K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh, 2023)
  • US Open Record: 3:05.84 – Virginia (K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh, 2023)
  • Pool Record: 3:10.28 Alabama (Antoniou, Scott, Molnar, Dupre, 2021)
  • 2023 Champion: 3:05.84 – Virginia (K Douglass, A Walsh, M Parker, G Walsh, 2023)

Top 8:

  1. Virginia – 3:05.89
  2. Florida – 3:08.60
  3. Louisville – 3:09.08
  4. Michigan – 3:09.47
  5. Tennessee – 3:09.70
  6. USC – 1:10.55
  7. Stanford – 3:10.57
  8. Indiana – 3:10.68

Gretchen Walsh swam the fastest flying start 100 freestyle in history swimming a 45.17 on the final night of competition at the 2024 NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia. Walsh swam on the third leg of Virginia’s winning relay.

All-Time Top 5 100 Yard Freestyle Splits on Rolling Starts:

  1.  45.17  – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, 2024 NCAA Championships
  2. 45.18 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, 2023 Tennessee Invitational
  3. 45.26 – Maggie Mac Neil, LSU, 2023 SEC Championships
  4. 45.45 – Simone Manuel, Stanford, 2015 NCAA Championships
  5. 45.47 – Simone Manuel, Stanford, 2018 NCAA Championships

The Virginia women also swam the #2 400 free relay in history swimming to a 3:05.89, just off of their NCAA record of a 3:05.84 that they swam a year ago.

Virginia, 2024 NCAAs VIRGINIA, 2023 NCAAS
VIRGINIA, 2023 ACCS
1st Leg Jasmine Nocentini, 47.06 Kate Douglass, 46.37
2nd Leg Alex Walsh, 46.54 Alex Walsh, 46.58
3rd Leg Gretchen Walsh, 45.17 Maxine Parker, 47.04
4th Leg Maxine Parker, 47.12 Gretchen Walsh, 45.85
400 Free Total 3:05.89 3:05.84 3:06.83

Notably, Gretchen Walsh set three NCAA and American records including a 44.83 in the flat start 100 free earlier in the night.

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Swimmerfan
7 months ago

she could have several WRs this December in short course
the 100 back or 100 butterfly are very likely

Fraser Thorpe
7 months ago

So can we look forward to some articles listing the greatest individual ncaa finals and/or swims in the next few days?

Swimdad
7 months ago

The last swimmer who dominated the NCAA’s in similar fashion was Caleb Dressel, who went on to become the most dominant sprinter ever.

Are we seeing a female version of Caleb?

‘Murica
Reply to  Swimdad
7 months ago

Is he related to Caeleb?

Blackflag82
Reply to  Swimdad
7 months ago

Not the most dominate sprinter ever

Swimdad
Reply to  Blackflag82
7 months ago

Who is?

Weinstein-Smith-Ledecky-Sims
Reply to  Swimdad
7 months ago

World Aquatics Championships Gold Medalists

Women’s 50 meter freestyle:
Sarah Sjostrom (4)

Women’s 100 meter freestyle:
Simone Manuel (2), Mollie O’Callaghan (2)

I don’t acknowledge doped to max East German swimmers into the discussion.

HeGetsItDoneAgain
Reply to  Swimdad
7 months ago

Santo condorelli dominates in nationally changes

Blackflag82
Reply to  Swimdad
7 months ago

Popov is head and shoulders above. After that there is some debate imo, but arguably you need to have a sprint lcm wr in free to claim that title

Joel
Reply to  Blackflag82
7 months ago

Popov for one

jvj
7 months ago

Is there any other record where the flat start is faster than the fastest flying start???

Facts
Reply to  jvj
7 months ago

Dressel 100 free?

jeff
Reply to  jvj
7 months ago

women’s 100 fly, women’s 200 free, men’s 100 free. That’s like 4 out of 10 events

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  jeff
7 months ago

And I believe mens 200 free until last year when Marchand went 1:28

dirtswimmer
Reply to  jvj
7 months ago

Also Dressel 50 free is only outdone by his own pair of 17.3 splits. The 100 fly was too until Liendo squeezed by it with a 42.77

jeff
Reply to  dirtswimmer
7 months ago

women’s 50 fly is also like that, where Gretchen’s fastest flat start of 21.75 only outdone by her own 21.50 relay split.

Troyy
Reply to  jvj
7 months ago

Until McKeon went that 49 in 2022 the 100 FR SCM world record was faster than the fastest split. Think we’re gonna start seeing more 49 splits perhaps starting this year.

PhillyMark
Reply to  jvj
7 months ago

Mens 200 Free LCM

Coach
7 months ago

And still .3 slower than her flat start, unreal. Hopefully she can get these relay starts figured out before Paris.

Go Bucky
Reply to  Coach
7 months ago

I wonder if it’s mostly being exhausted at this point in the meet.

Troyy
Reply to  Coach
7 months ago

Her relay start is fine.

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Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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