Courtesy UVA Media Relations
Virginia women’s swimming alumna Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the 50m Freestyle while competing at the Sette Colli Trophy, a three-day international meet held June 26-28 in Rome, Italy.
Walsh set the 50m Freestyle record in Sunday’s final session, posting a 23.55.
The mark breaks the world record of 23.59 set by fellow Cavalier alum Kate Douglass eight days earlier in a meet in Indianapolis.
Walsh’s record, which was also an American record, was the 100th American record set by a Virginia swimmer since 2021.
Walsh set her first World Record on June 15, 2024, breaking the 100m Fly record at the US Olympic Trials. With this 50 Free mark, she has now broken a World Record 21 times.
Walsh opened the meet by setting an American record in the 50m Butterfly on Friday, going 24.51 in the final of the event. The time is 0.15 seconds faster than her previous mark set last year and is the second-fastest performance of all time. She won the 100m Fly on Saturday with the fifth fastest time ever, posting a 54.82.
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Rising sophomore Sara Curtis, who was also competing at the meet, set a European record and four Italian national records over the three-day competition.
Curtis set an Italian national record in the prelims of the 50m Backstroke on the opening session of the meet, posting a time of 27.23. In the finals session, she broke both her newly minted national record and the European record by going 27.07. She moves up to the fifth fastest performer ever in the event.
On Saturday, Curts set her third national record, taking down her own mark in the finals of the 100m Free, posting a 52.69, going under 53 seconds for the first time in her career.
Curtis capped off the meet by breaking her own record in the 50m Free, posting a time of 24.09 in Sunday’s final session. She set the previous record of 24.29 in April at the Italian National Championships. She placed third in the race, swimming alongside Walsh during Walsh’s world-record performance.
The Sette Colli Trophy is an elite international meet that featured more than 700 athletes from 36 nations competing, including multiple Olympic medalists and world and European champions. Curtis was one of the 32 athletes from the Italian National Team.
TWO CAVS. EIGHT DAYS APART. 🤯
Gretchen Walsh sets a WORLD RECORD in the 50m freestyle just days after training partner Kate Douglass broke the same record. 👏 pic.twitter.com/zJlIIJVRO0
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 28, 2026
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