Gretchen Walsh sets 100m fly world record at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials

Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly on Saturday night, posting a time of 55.18 seconds in a semifinal heat at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly posting a time of 55.18 seconds. | Photo Credit: AP

Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the women’s 100-meter butterfly on Saturday night, posting a time of 55.18 seconds in a semifinal heat at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

Walsh was more than a half-second under world-record pace at the turn and finished strong to eclipse the mark of 55.48 set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

She held her hand over her mouth as she looked at the scoreboard in disbelief, a “WR” beside her name.

The 21-year-old Walsh, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, who competes for the University of Virginia, will return for the finals Sunday night looking to claim a spot on her first Olympic team.