Nothing can stop Kate Douglass! And she has proven that with every stop that the World Championships journey has made. After creating history in the pools of Shanghai and Incheon, as the championship reaches its final leg, Kate has no intention of losing any momentum. After four medals at the Paris Olympics, she now stands at the cusp of something just as iconic! The races in Singapore began on October 31st. The pools were set to see some of the greatest races, but nobody saw what Kate did coming!
Kate Douglass went on to break her own world record! And that too in a span of a week. In Incheon, Kate swam the 200m breaststroke (25m) and created a world record. She went on to clock 2:14.16 to break Rebecca Soni’s 15-year-old standing record of 2:14.57. And this time, in Singapore, she leveled up! Kate did not just break her record; she did it with a significant change in the numbers.
🇺🇸 Kate Douglass improves her world record after just one week with an incredible swim in the 200m Breaststroke (25m) #SWC2024 #FASTLANE pic.twitter.com/qMqZsdHsVo
— World Aquatics (@WorldAquatics) October 31, 2024
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At Singapore, Kate Douglass went on to clock 2:12.72. It’s a full two-second difference in just a week! Her latest swim isn’t just fast. It is the fastest that the world has ever seen! Alina Zmushka went on to win Silver but had only clocked 2:18.79. Now, that’s a big gap between the first and second. Meanwhile, the third place was won by Tara Kinder, who clocked 2:19.08. Since the time she broke out at the University of Virginia in 2020, her journey has been nothing less than a rollercoaster that seems to only go up.
Kate is on a roll, and there is no stopping her. Let’s not forget the consistency she is maintaining; she even won in Shanghai! In Shanghai, Kate swam the 200m breaststroke. She went on to clock 2:15.96 and win Gold. Now that’s three wins during three different legs in three different cities. That, in itself, calls for something else. A crown of sorts, maybe?
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Kate Douglass wears the coveted crown!
Kate Douglass has pulled a double whammy of accomplishments here. With that 200m Breaststroke win, Kate just claimed the Triple Crown! So what is this coveted crown? Well, at the Worlds, if a swimmer wins the same event across the series venue cities, then they are eligible for the triple crown. And Kate just did exactly that! Kate now wears the 200m breaststroke Triple Crown! Glory aside, the crown also brings something else.
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With the mountains of glory, the crown also brings a $10,000 prize. This is apart from the $10,000 Douglass earned for each of her world records. But that’s not the only race she was eligible for! After her wins in Incheon, Kate was eligible for three crowns in 200 m breaststroke! She also held a chance in the 100m individual medley (IM) and 50m butterfly. While the 50m is yet to happen, there’s an update on the 100m IM.
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Not so long after creating the world record, Kate Douglass was back in the pool for the 100m IM finals. Any guesses on the result? Well, Kate went on to clock 56.57 and won the Gold yet again. Kate stands at the cusp of becoming the #1 American performer, but unfortunately, Gretchen Walsh’s 55.98 World Record still stands! And by winning that, she just put herself on top for yet another Triple Crown, with the momentum that Kate Douglass is moving in. She just might have a Triple Crown trifecta.
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Is Kate Douglass redefining what it means to be untouchable in competitive swimming?