U.S. Women Swim 3:25.01 To Break Australia’s World Record In The Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay

2024 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

The United States women’s 4×100 freestyle relay of Kate Douglass, Katharine Berkoff, Alex Shackell, and Gretchen Walsh closed out the women’s events on one of the fastest finals sessions we’ve ever seen with another world record. The quartet combined for a 3:25.01, breaking the world record of 3:25.43 that the Australian team of Mollie O’Callaghan, Madi Wilson, Meg Harris, and Emma McKeon set two years ago by .42 seconds.

That Australian quartet was notably behind the United States at the final exchange at the 2022 Short Course World Championships. But McKeon–who recently announced her retirement from professional swimming–anchored the group in 49.96, the fastest 100 freestyle relay split in history, to pass the United States and claim gold with a world record. The United States’ silver-medal time of 3:26.29 was also under the Netherlands’ 3:26.53, which stood as the world record at the time.

Two years after that swim, the United States has now taken over the world record.

World Record Split Comparison

Douglass put the United States ahead of the world record line with her 50.95 lead-off swim, which is just .13 seconds off the American record of 50.82 she swam at the World Cup earlier this fall. The Australian women’s pace made up some ground on the second leg, but Berkoff’s 51.38 and Shackell’s 52.01 did their job and kept the U.S. firmly in the lead in the final and ahead of Australia’s pace.

Berkoff was often a part of this relay during her NCAA career at NC State but is most well known as a backstroker on the international scene, especially after winning Olympic bronze in the 100 backstroke. The 100 freestyle isn’t a typical event for Shackell at senior international meets either; she made her Olympic debut in the 200 butterfly this summer.

Walsh anchored the quartet with a 50.67, slightly off her 50.51 split from the prelims relay to secure gold and the world record for the team. This marked Walsh’s first medal of the 2024 Short Course World Championships. But it’s already her third world record of the meet as she broke the 50 butterfly world record in prelims and then again during the semifinals, busting through the 24-second barrier earlier in the final session. Meanwhile, this was Douglass’ second world record of the session after she broke Katinka Hosszu‘s decade-old mark and defended her 200 IM world title.