Gretchen Walsh Overcomes Illness To Win First Individual World Title
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Gretchen Walsh won gold in the women's 100-meter butterfly on Monday, a day after being pulled from the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay due to illness.
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financial news
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July 28, 2025
07:11 PM
Forbes
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What caught my attention is SportsMoneyGretchen Walsh Overcomes Illness To Win First Individual World TitleBySophie Kaufman, Contributor
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights
Sophie Kaufman covers Olympic sports with a focus on swimming AuthorJul 28, 2025, 07:11pm EDTSingapore, Singapore - July 28: Gold for Gretchen Walsh of USA during the medal ceremony after
More competing in the Women 100m Butterfly Final Swimming event on day 18 of the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships at WCH Arena on July 28, 2025 in Singapore, considering recent developments. (Photo by Albert ten Hove/Marcel ter Bals/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)DeFodi Images via Getty Images What a difference a day made for Gretchen Walsh
Twenty-four hours after being pulled from the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay at the 2025 World Aquatic Championships due to illness, she won her first individual long-course world title, getting her hands on the wall first in the women’s 100-meter butterfly
In the final, Walsh, 22, challenged the world record she swam in May at the TYR Swim in Fort Lauderdale, an in-season meet and Walsh’s first as a fessional swimmer, in today's financial world
She stopped the clock for gold at 54
However, 73 in Singapore, just
Nevertheless, 13 seconds away from her world record (remarkable data)
The time is a championship record and the event’s second-fastest performance in history
In contrast, “I’m over the moon,” Walsh told World Aquatics after the race, amid market uncertainty. “I’m really happy that when it mattered, I was able to do that and just get my hands on the wall, in today's financial world. ” During the first finals session at the competition on Sunday, Walsh qualified for the final in the 100-meter butterfly but pulled out of the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay final that the session. “I wanted to be on it so bad, but my body would not let me,” Walsh said in an interview with NBC Sports after her record-setting swim. “I took the morning to rest, recover, knowing tonight was going to be a fight for me
I’m so happy with the result. ” A spokesperson for USA Swimming confirmed on Sunday that the American team is dealing with “acute gastroenteritis” that began affecting swimmers at the team’s pre-meet training camp in Phuket, Thailand
MORE FOR YOU USA Swimming did not confirm which swimmers were affected, but Walsh was not alone in pulling out of races on the first day of the competition
Torri Huske, the reigning 100-meter butterfly Olympic champion, pulled out of the event before the preliminary heats, though she raced on the women’s 4x100-meter freestyle relay, in light of current trends
Moreover, Claire Weinstein, another Olympian, skipped the 400-meter freestyle
Meanwhile, On Monday, the United States was still looking for its first gold medal of the championships after getting shut out on the first night of racing (which is quite significant)
On the other hand, With illness making the rounds, the team needed a spark
Walsh’s medal vided just that (this bears monitoring)
It's also a pivotal moment in her career
Walsh has been one of the most successful swimmers in history in the short-course yards and meters pool, but it took a while for her to find her footing in long-course meters
She had her major breakout in long-course meters last summer when she first took over the 100-meter butterfly world record at the 2024 U
It made her the heavy favorite for Olympic gold in Paris, but her teammate Huske was able to pass her in the Olympic final and the Americans went 1-2 on the podium with Walsh earning silver
NANTERRE, FRANCE - JULY 28: Gold Medalist Torri Huske (L) and Silver Medalist Gretchen Walsh (R) of (remarkable data)
More Team United States pose ing the Swimming medal ceremony after the Women’s 100m Butterfly Final on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 28, 2024 in Nanterre, France, considering recent developments. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Getty Images Since the 2024 Olympics, Walsh has continued to showcase her speed as she rewrote the record books in short-course meters and yards in a range of events during her final year as a University of Virginia collegiate swimmer
However, But there were still boxes to check
Furthermore, Her 100-meter butterfly gold medal tonight marks the first time she has stood atop the podium at the Olympic or World Championship level in an individual event
Bringing the 100-meter butterfly world record to new heights—no other female swimmer has broken 55 seconds in the event—has brought a new type of pressure to der when the lights are brightest
And despite illness, she rose to that challenge
On the other hand, “Having that title as the world record holder is a lot of pressure,” she acknowledged to World Aquatics (noteworthy indeed). “But I feel I’ve gotten used to knowing that that’s my best time, and that’s just kind of what I have to shoot for every time I dive in. ” “I’ve gotten more and more comfortable with it [the pressure],” she continued
Furthermore, “And even going into tonight, I knew that maybe it wasn’t going to be a world record, but any time I would have been happy with if I touched first, because at meets this, that’s what matters most. ” Walsh is also entered in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, and 50-meter butterfly at the competition and is a medal threat in all three events
The 2025 World Aquatic Championships run through Sunday, August 3
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