Paris Olympics, Day 2 Finals: Torri Huske Earns Redemption, Runs Down Gretchen Walsh For 100 Fly Gold By 0.04
One year ago, Torri Huske lost her title as world’s best 100 butterflyer as she faded to bronze in the event at the World Championships. One month ago, Huske lost her position as top American in the 100 butterfly when Gretchen Walsh broke not only Huske’s American record but also the world record, surpassing a mark set by Sarah Sjostrom eight years earlier.
But in the sport’s most critical moment, an Olympic final, Huske came through in dramatic fashion, overtaking Walsh in the closing moments of the race to win gold by four hundredths.
It was a result three years in the making, since Huske led the Tokyo Olympic final for much of the second length before fading down the stretch. In that initial Olympic experience, she came out on the wrong end of that painfully close finish, missing gold by less than two tenths and a bronze medal by a measly one hundredth. “I don’t know why, but I think I was a little bit naïve going into it,” Huske said. “I just kind of felt like, ‘I’m on Team USA. Team USA always medals. I will get a medal. I will get my hand on that wall, and I will get on that podium.’ But it’s a lot tougher than that.”
- World Record: Gretchen Walsh, USA – 55.18 (2024)
- Olympic Record: Gretchen Walsh, USA – 55.38 (2024)
- Tokyo Olympic Champion: Maggie Mac Neil, Canada – 55.59
Huske became world champion in the 100 fly in 2022, but she learned quickly that success in the sport is never permanent. She struggled in 2023, falling to bronze at the World Championships in a time almost one second slower than her title-winning mark from a year earlier. She again faded in the final, and days later, swimming the butterfly leg of the U.S. mixed 400 medley relay, Huske recorded a split almost three seconds slower than her best time in a moment she called “traumatic.” She lost her spot as the butterflyer on the U.S. women’s medley relay.
Thus, after returning from Fukuoka to Stanford University, Huske decided to make changes aimed at maximizing her performance in the Olympic year. She realized that an extremely heavy class load the previous quarter had left her exhausted, often showing up to practice late after sprinting from class. That prompted Huske to take a gap year from college swimming and lighten her usual class load. Over the next few months, the benefits of that decision were obvious as Huske looked revitalized in competition, eclipsing her World Championships times at routine in-season meets.
Yes, Walsh broke the world record at Olympic Trials, but Huske got on the team despite Regan Smith putting a major scare into the favorites in the final. Lost in the attention surrounding Walsh, Huske swam a best time of 55.52, surpassing her previous American record and moving to third all-time in the event. But perhaps a fortunate circumstance for Huske, Walsh was the American grabbing nearly all the attention in the event. Walsh was the favorite entering the Paris Games. But Huske was back, quietly stalking and waiting for her chance on the biggest stage.
On the opening day of racing in Paris, Walsh broke the Olympic record in the semifinals, clocking a time of 55.38 that no one else had ever reached, yet Huske positioned herself perfectly with the No. 2 qualifying mark. And in the final, she struck.
The early lead in the final, as expected, belonged to Walsh, and she turned five hundredths under world-record pace and two hundredths clear of China’s Zhang Yufei, last year’s world champion in the event. Walsh used her signature underwater dolphin kicks to emerge ahead — but not far enough.
Torri Huske — Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
Huske, typically a swift starter herself, was only two tenths back at the midway point, and she used the homecoming split of a lifetime, her 29.98 quicker than anyone else in the field, to achieve Olympic gold. Within the final 10 meters, Huske caught up to a fading Walsh. Moments later, as the normally-reserved 21-year-old saw her result, she exploded with joy.
“My first 50 felt really good, and then I’ve been working on my second 50 a lot, especially after last year when I had a weak finish and kind of died in my race. And in the last Olympics, I lost it in the last 50, so I wanted to have a good, strong last 50,” Huske said.
“It was really surreal. I saw my block light up first, and I also saw Gretchen’s light up. You’ve been dreaming about this moment for so long, and it finally becomes a reality. I don’t even know how to process it. I was hyperventilating a little bit maybe. I feel like my body had a reaction. I don’t even know. I couldn’t even control anything that was going on. It was all happening so fast.”
That medal marked the first U.S. gold in the event since Dana Vollmer won gold in 2012 and the first American medal in the event since Vollmer’s bronze in 2016. Huske had just missed the podium by one hundredth three years ago in Tokyo. With Huske’s gold and Walsh’s silver medal, the United States now has captured six medals in the pool in Paris. The two swimmers previously handled the middle legs of the U.S. women’s 400 freestyle relay that earned a silver medal.
Walsh, meanwhile, reached the individual Olympic podium just one year after shedding the label of short-course specialist. Over the first three years of her college career at the University of Virginia, Walsh has posted the fastest times ever in four different short course yards events, largely thanks to elite underwater dolphin kicking, but her long course swimming lagged behind until qualifying for the World Championships in 2023.
In that debut appearance, Walsh was a fringe swimmer, but no longer. Even though she finished shy of her own world record and the Olympic record she posted in Saturday’s semifinals, she provided a key momentum boost for the U.S. team with this gold-silver finish.
“I was definitely nervous before,” Walsh said. “I feel like there was a lot of pressure on me, just having gone a world record and the Olympic record last night, and I just wanted to try to execute the race the best I could. It was definitely a fight to the finish, and seeing the 1-2 up there was amazing. I’m so proud of Torri. I’m proud of myself. That was what America needed and wanted. It was a really special moment that we shared out there on the podium.”
Zhang earned bronze in 56.21, reaching the podium for the second consecutive Games after a silver in Tokyo. Germany’s Angelina Kohler touched out Canada’s Maggie Mac Neil, the defending Olympic champion, for fourth place, 56.42 to 56.44. “It’s hard enough to do it once, and to do it again is even harder,” Mac Neil said. “The last couple of months, I’ve been telling myself that I have nothing to prove to anyone, myself or anyone else. So I’ve been really enjoying the experience with my teammates and my family and everyone else.”
Emma McKeon, the Australian who edged Huske for bronze four years ago, finished sixth in 56.93. McKeon, who won gold as part of Australia’s 400 free relay Saturday, is tied for most career medals among female swimmers with 12.
In the hours after this signature achievement, Huske’s thoughts kept coming back to the individuals who played key encouraging roles in her life, including Stanford head coach Greg Meehan, who became emotional in the moments after Huske received her gold medal.
“I think the key was my amazing support system,” Huske said. “I have my family to thank, my friends, of course everybody at Stanford. I love my Stanford home and my teammates who push me every day and my coach. I wouldn’t be here today without them, and they made this moment happen, so I have them to thank, so it’s very surreal.”
Great competition so far. But for whatever reason this seems to be a slow pool
Hey,a ‘switcheroo’ in the order we all thought! Noticed how short Huske is compared to Walsh. Does that mean she had to swim even faster to out touch her!!!😁