American Kate Douglass celebrates her 50m freestyle world file on the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. Picture: AFP/FILE
LOS ANGELES:
Kate Douglass shattered the ladies’s 50m freestyle world file on Saturday, clocking 23.49sec within the heats on the Pan Pacific Championships to set a tantalizing showdown with former record-holder Gretchen Walsh.
Douglass improved on the world mark of 23.55sec that fellow-American Walsh set on June 28 on the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome.
Walsh’s mark had improved on the world file of 23.59 that Douglass herself had set on June 19 — and Douglass stated that she believed she may nonetheless enhance technically.
“I undoubtedly wasn’t anticipating that,” Douglass informed Swimming World journal. “I nonetheless suppose there are issues I may clear up.”
Douglass’s spectacular efficiency got here little greater than 12 hours after she delivered the second-fastest 100m freestyle in historical past swimming the lead-off leg on the US’s victorious 4x100m free relay.
Walsh’s mark had improved on the world file of 23.59 that Douglass herself had set on June 19 — and Douglass stated that she believed she may nonetheless enhance technically.
“I undoubtedly wasn’t anticipating that,” Douglass informed Swimming World journal. “I nonetheless suppose there are issues I may clear up.”
Douglass’s spectacular efficiency got here little greater than 12 hours after she delivered the second-fastest 100m freestyle in historical past swimming the lead-off leg on the US’s victorious 4x100m free relay.
She touched the wall in 51.69sec — one one-hundredth exterior the 100m free world file set by Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands in June.
“I believe barely lacking a world file final evening type of fueled me a bit bit, and I do know I wished to go in and break the world file right now — and I did it this morning,” Douglass stated. “I’m extra rested than once I broke the world file the primary time, and I’ve been amped up.”
Saturday’s 50m free closing guarantees fireworks.
Walsh, swimming within the final warmth after Douglass broke her file, touched in 23.78, the second-quickest of the morning.
Australian Meg Harris, who ran down Walsh to win the 100m free on Thursday, was third-fastest in 24.22.
Douglass can also be slated for one more particular person swim on the ultimate evening of the four-day assembly, which brings collectively prime swimmers from non-European nations.
The American, who’s the second-fastest performer in historical past within the 200m breaststroke, certified second-fastest for that closing behind Japan’s Kotomi Kato.