Kate Douglass breaks 50m freestyle world record at Pan Pacific Championships, California; world record twice in one day
U.S. swimming star Kate Douglass breaks 50m freestyle world record twice in one day at Pan Pacific Championships 2026
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: U.S. star Kate Douglass breaks 50m freestyle world record twice in one day
The two-time Olympic champion first broke the record clocking 23.49 seconds in the morning heats before going on to win the evening final in 23.19 seconds on Saturday (15 August).
It was a day of records for two-time Olympic champion Kate Douglass on Saturday (15 August) at the Pan Pacific Championships in California.
In the morning heats for the women’s 50 metres freestyle, she broke the world record with a blistering time of 23.49 seconds.
She shaved 0.06 off the mark training partner Gretchen Walsh set in June for the latest instalment of the tit-for-tat battle between the two swimmers.
The 24-year-old Douglass set the world record for the first time in June with a time of 23.59 before Walsh set a new mark of 23.55 just nine days later.
With both swimmers qualifying for the evening’s 50m freestyle final, fans were expecting a mouth-watering duel.
She went on to take the title with yet another word record - this time lowering it to 23.19 seconds.
Walsh was left to settle for second in 23.74, with Australia’s reigning world champion Meg Harris third in 23.89.
Just 25 minutes later, Douglass returned to the pool for the 200m breaststroke, where she finished second.
She rallied down the stretch but couldn’t catch Alexanne Lepage of Canada, who led the entire race and touched in 2:21.73. Douglass finished in 2:22.57.
Pan Pacific Swimming Championships 2026: Full schedule and all results
Picture by 2026 Getty Images
Swimmers Regan Smith and Kate Douglass on the benefits of a post-Paris 2024 “reset” season - podcast
Having combined for nine Olympic medals at Paris 2024, American swimmers Kate Douglass and Regan Smith deserved a little rest. The close friends join the Olympics.com podcast to discuss their downtime - and why they felt like it was important, as they both set goals ahead of LA 2028. Among other topics, Douglass details an altered training approach at her collegiate alma mater in Virginia in a chat with host Nick McCarvel, while Smith opens up about her rivalry with Australia’s Kaylee McKeown to our reporter Andrew Binner. Both women are set to compete at this month’s World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where the swimming gets underway on 27 July.