{
  "id": 17149587,
  "title": "Kate Douglass, Katharine Berkoff, Van Mathias swim world records at short course trials",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/kate-douglass-katharine-berkoff-van-mathias-swim-world-records-at",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-30T00:24:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kate-douglass-katharine-berkoff-van-002425045.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At the USA Swimming's World Short Course Championships Trials held in Westmont, Illinois on Thursday, Kate Douglass, Katharine Berkoff, and Van Mathias swam world records at the short course meet. Douglass tied her training partner Gretchen Walsh's world record in the 50m freestyle, breaking the record with a time of 22.83 seconds. Berkoff broke the 50m backstroke record, clocking 25.21 seconds, surpassing Regan Smith's short course record set in 2024. Mathias swam the fastest short course 100m breaststroke in history, completing the event in 55.14 seconds, thus shattering the previous record of 55.28 set by Ilya Shymanovich of Belarus in 2021. These swimmers have secured their spots for the World Short Course Championships in Beijing from Dec. 1-6.",
  "summary": "The USA Swimming World Short Course Championships Trials air live on Peacock and NBCSN through Saturday.",
  "key_points": [
    "Kate Douglass tied Gretchen Walsh's 50m freestyle world record with 22.83 seconds.",
    "Katharine Berkoff broke the 50m backstroke record with 25.21 seconds.",
    "Van Mathias set a new short course world record in the 100m breaststroke at 55.14 seconds."
  ],
  "editors_take": "These record-breaking performances signal a heightened level of domestic competition that establishes the American roster as the primary favorites heading into the upcoming World Short Course Championships in Beijing.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}