Gretchen Walsh’s 11 World Records Surpasses Spitz, Phelps For Most Set In Single Meet

2024 SHORT COURSE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

American Gretchen Walsh had some historic performances at the 2024 World Short Course Championships in Budapest. She demolished several world records and won seven gold medals.

Besides annihilating the fastest time in history by wide margins and rewriting the record books, the number of world records she set in Budapest is one of a kind. But how amazing is setting 11 world records in a single meet?

Swimming Stats’ Instagram page has published the list of the swimmers who have broken the most world records in a single meet. Gretchen Walsh tops this list. And it’s not even close.

Before her, no swimmer had ever broken more than seven world records at a championship meet. And breaking seven world records is an achievement that only the two greatest swimmers in history could reach: Mark Spitz and Michael Phelps, who set seven WRs during the 1972 and 2008 Olympics, respectively.

China’s Le Jingyi set six world records at the inaugural 1993 SCM Worlds, and several swimmers have set five world records in a single competition, including Spitz and Phelps again.

When it comes to world records set in individual events, Walsh stands out even more. After all, she set nine individual WRs (2x 50 free, 2x 50 fly, 3x 100 fly, 2×100 IM). Even Spitz and Phelps couldn’t come close to this in their Olympic performances, as they set four individual WRs each in 1972 and 2008.

But Spitz and Phelps managed to break five individual WRs in other meets. Spitz did it at the 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in Chicago, where he set WRs in the 100 fly twice, the 200 fly twice, and the 100 free. Phelps did it at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, where he set WRs in the 200 IM twice, 100 fly, 200 fly and 400 IM.

East German’s Kornelia Ender set fve individual world records at the 1976 GDR Olympic Trials, and she is the only swimmer in history to break that many world records in as many events in a single meet, doing so in the women’s 100 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 fly and 200 IM.

Gretchen Walsh did not quite match that in Budapest, as she set world records in four different individual events. Who knows at the 2026 SCM Worlds?