On August 16, 2026, American swimmer Kate Douglass made headlines at the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, California. She reclaimed the world record in the 50m freestyle from her training partner Gretchen Walsh during the preliminary heats. Later that evening, Douglass shattered her own record in the event’s final.
Douglass, who previously won an Olympic gold medal in the 200m breaststroke, clocked an impressive 23.49 seconds in the preliminaries, surpassing Walsh’s record of 23.55 seconds from June 28. In the final, Douglass further improved her time to 23.19, knocking off three-tenths of a second from her earlier record.
“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.
Douglass had briefly held the world record at 23.59 seconds since June 19 before Walsh took it. On the night of her record-breaking performance, Douglass achieved a rare feat by winning three medals in a single session at a major international meet. Her timeline included:
- 7:42 p.m. local time: Won 50m freestyle, setting a world record of 23.19.
- 8:08 p.m. local time: Finished second in the 200m breaststroke, her Olympic gold-winning event from 2024.
- 9:25 p.m. local time: 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. They really gave me a lot of energy to finish that relay,” Douglass shared on NBC Sports. She added, “It’s actually probably one of the busiest nights of swimming I’ve had. I don’t think I want to do it again.”
Additionally, during the Friday night events, Douglass swam the second-fastest 100m freestyle in history. She finished with a time of 51.69, narrowly missing Dutch swimmer Marrit Steenbergen’s world record by 0.01 seconds, while leading off the U.S. 4x100m freestyle relay. Douglass is not only a record-setter in the 50m freestyle but is also the second-fastest performer ever in the 200m breaststroke.
The highlights from the Pan Pacific Championships will be broadcasted on NBC at 2 p.m. ET Sunday. Coverage from the event was supported by NBC Sports’ Ardynne Fleitz, reporting from Irvine.
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