2026 Pan Pacific Championships: Kate Douglass sets 50-meter freestyle world record for the 2nd time in 1 day
Hours after setting a new WR, Douglass did it again, posting a mind-boggling time of 23:19 and shaving 0.3 seconds off her time from Saturday morning.
On Saturday, Kate Douglass set a new world record in the 50-meter freestyle event at the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships. Later that same day, she not only retained the record but also shattered it with a time of 23.19 seconds. This time marked a significant improvement, shaving off a full three-tenths of a second from her morning performance.
The commentators were left utterly speechless by Douglass's performance. This feat came after a summer-long competition with USA teammate Gretchen Walsh, who had been holding the record since June 19. Douglass had previously broken Walsh's time in Indianapolis, setting it at 23.59, but Walsh swiftly responded with a time of 23:55.
However, on Saturday, Douglass reclaimed the title, swimming the race in 23:49 before going even faster two hours later. Gretchen Walsh secured the silver medal with a time of 23:74, while Australia's Meg Harris finished third with a time of 23.89. Douglass's back-to-back victories were quickly followed by another challenge - she had to compete again in the 200-meter breaststroke, this time taking home a silver medal.
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