On Saturday, Kate Douglass broke the world record in the women’s 50-meter freestyle event during the preliminary heats of the Pan Pacific Championships. The 24-year-old swimmer, hailing from Pelham, a suburb of New York City, recorded a time of 23.49 seconds at the outdoor pool in Irvine, California.

Douglass surpassed the previous record of 23.55 seconds, which was set by her teammate Gretchen Walsh at an international meet held in Rome in June. Notably, this achievement marks the second occasion Douglass has set a world record in the sprint race. Her first record-breaking performance was on June 19 at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis, where she achieved a time of 23.59 seconds. Shortly thereafter, Walsh managed to lower the record again.

Kate Douglass boasts an impressive record as a five-time Olympic medalist. She secured a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 2024 World Championships, although she did not compete in this event during the 2024 Paris Games.

Competing after Douglass, Gretchen Walsh completed the heat with a time of 23.78 seconds. This performance positioned Walsh alongside Douglass as the top two qualifiers for the evening final, which took place on the last day of competition in Irvine.

This event noted an important milestone, as it was the first individual world record set at the meet, which featured swimmers from the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, China, and other nations.