Records fall as world swim meet fires off

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AFP) — Records tumbled on the opening day of the World Short Course Swimming Championships in Budapest with Gretchen Walsh, Noe Ponti, Summer McIntosh, Kate Douglass and two US relay teams breaking the old marks.

Walsh, a 21-year-old American, broke three world records during the day. She shattered the 50m short-course butterfly world record in her morning heat, swimming 24.02 seconds to slash 0.32 seconds off the record set by Swede Therese Alshammar in 2009, in the era of the now banned super suits.

In the evening, Walsh, who won two Olympic relay golds in the summer, dipped under 24 seconds with a time of 23.94 seconds. She then wondered how she could go faster in Wednesday’s final.

“I don’t know what I am going to fix going into tomorrow but I am going to have to find something,” she said.

In the next race, Swiss swimmer Ponti broke the men’s 50m fly record for the third time this year when he won his semi-final in 21.43 seconds.

McIntosh, a triple gold medalist at the Paris Olympics, obliterated the women’s short-course 400-meter freestyle world record to take the first gold of the championships.

The Canadian 18-year-old won in three minutes and 50.25 seconds to take 1.05 seconds off the record set by China’s Li Bingjie in October 2022.

Australian Lani Pallister took silver, 3.48 seconds behind, with Canadian Mary-Sophie Hardy third.

American Kate Douglass made it four world records in four races when she won the women’s 200m medley in a time of 2:01.63, 0.23 sec inside the mark set by Hungarian Katinka Hosszu in 2014.

Alex Walsh, older sister of Gretchen, was third, 1.02 seconds back, with Briton Abbie Wood third.

Gretchen Walsh claimed a third world record, and Douglass a second, as the evening ended with the Americans sweeping the 100m freestyle relays.

Douglass led off and Walsh swam the anchor leg as the US women came home in 3:25.01 to shave 0.42 seconds off Australia’s world record.

Australia was second as it came 3.24-second slower on the night. Canada, with Harvey and McIntosh swimming the first two legs, was third.