On the first day of the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California, American swimmer Kate Douglass dominated the pool by reclaiming and then surpassing the world record in the 50m freestyle. She initially broke the record during the preliminary heats with a time of 23.49 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 23.55 seconds set by her training partner, Gretchen Walsh, on June 28.

In the evening final, Douglass further surpassed her morning accomplishment, swimming an astonishing 23.19 seconds, improving her own record by a significant margin of three tenths of a second.

I had to do a few double takes, not really sure I was seeing that right because that time just seems like crazy fast to me, Douglass remarked about her record-breaking performance.

Before this achievement, Douglass held the 50m freestyle world record of 23.59 seconds for nine days, having set it on June 19, before Walsh captured it. Adding to her triumph, Douglass earned two gold medals and one silver, completing a challenging night at the championship. Her performance timeline was as follows:

• 7:42 p.m. local time: Douglass won the 50m freestyle in a world record time of 23.19 seconds.
• 8:08 p.m. local time: She finished second in the 200m breaststroke, an event where she secured the Olympic gold medal in 2024.
• 9:25 p.m. local time: Douglass anchored the U.S. women’s 4x100m medley relay team to victory.

I was doubting myself, questioning my ability to do a triple tonight, but honestly, my coaches and my teammates had a lot of faith in me, Douglass shared on NBC Sports, attributing her energy and success to her support team.

Admitting her busy schedule during the event, Douglass later stated, It’s actually probably one of the busiest nights of swimming I’ve had. I don’t think I want to do it again.

Douglass displayed her versatility on Friday by recording the second-fastest 100m freestyle in history at 51.69 seconds, narrowly missing the world record held by Marrit Steenbergen of the Netherlands by just 0.01 seconds. She achieved this during the lead-off of the U.S. 4x100m freestyle relay.

Recognized as a versatile swimmer, Douglass also ranks as the second-fastest in the 200m breaststroke globally. Highlights from the Pan Pacific Championships will be broadcast on NBC at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday.

NBC Sports’ Ardynne Fleitz contributed to this report from Irvine.