Gretchen WALSH (USA) delivered a statement swim at the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 on Monday (28 July), racing to the women’s 100m butterfly gold medal in a new Championship Record time of 54.73 seconds. The world record holder edged past the previous mark of 55.53sec held by Sweden’s Sarah SJOESTROEM, and came just 0.13sec shy of matching her own world record of 54.60sec set earlier this year.

“I feel great about it. I was not expecting that time for myself,” said Walsh, who remains the second-fastest woman ever in the event. “I’m so happy to be under 55 again; it means everything. It was not easy. And I’m just really proud of myself for that time.”

Roos VANOTTERDIJK (BEL) placed second in 55.84sec, handing Belgium its first swimming world medal since Perth 1998. Alexandria PERKINS (AUS) took bronze in 56.33sec. China’s ZHANG Yufei, the reigning Olympic champion, settled for fourth in 56.47sec.

Walsh credited mental resilience for her record-breaking performance. “With the illness that’s been going on… my body has just been fragile. I needed to give myself grace,” she said. “Luckily, I had the morning to recover and rest, and I used that, and that helped me enormously.”

In the men’s 100m breaststroke, China’s QIN Haiyang won gold ahead of Nicolo MARTINENGHI (ITA), but the night belonged to bronze medallist Denis PETRASHOV (KGZ), who earned Kyrgyzstan’s first-ever medal at the World Aquatics Championships. “It took a lot of guts. I just wanted to go out here and do it for my team,” said Walsh, reflecting on her own journey and the broader challenges of the meet.

Elsewhere, France’s Maxime GROUSSET sprinted to victory in the men’s 50m butterfly, while Canada’s Summer McINTOSH dominated the women’s 200m medley to lead a 1-3 Canadian finish. Competition continues on Tuesday (29 July) at the Singapore Sports Hub.