American swimmer Kate Douglass set a world record in the women's 50-meter freestyle during the preliminary heats of the Pan Pacific Championships on Saturday in Irvine, California. The 24-year-old from Pelham, New York, touched the wall in 23.49 seconds at the outdoor pool.
The time lowers the previous world record of 23.55 seconds, which was set by U.S. teammate Gretchen Walsh at an international meet in Rome in June. This is the second time Douglass has broken the world record in the event this year.
Douglass first lowered the mark to 23.59 seconds on June 19 at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis. Nine days later, Walsh reclaimed the record with her 23.55-second swim in Rome.
Walsh swam in the heat immediately following Douglass on Saturday and posted a time of 23.78 seconds. The two teammates qualified as the top two seeds for the evening final on the final day of competition.
Douglass is a five-time Olympic medalist. She earned a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2024 World Championships but did not compete in the individual event at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The Pan Pacific Championships feature swimmers from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, China and other nations. Douglass's swim marked the first individual world record set at this edition of the meet.
The record-setting performance occurred in an outdoor pool during morning preliminaries, with the final scheduled for later the same day. Both swimmers advanced to the championship final as the top qualifiers.
American Kate Douglass sets 50-meter freestyle world record at Pan Pacific
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