2024 Short Course World Championships Day 5 Recap: Five records were set, Walsh shone once again with two more, and Crooks broke the 20-second barrier in the 50m freestyle.

On the second-to-last night of the 2024 World Swimming Championships (25m), Jordan Crooks, Noe Ponti, Summer McIntosh, and Gretchen Walsh set five world records.

The women's 100m butterfly swimmer, Gretechen Walsh, delivered an even stronger performance, breaking the world record for the seventh time.

American swimmer Gretchen Walsh once again shattered the world record in the 100-meter butterfly, improving her time from 54.05 at the beginning of the year to an impressive 52.71 in 2024. This marks Walsh’s seventh world-record breakthrough this week at the 2024 World Short Course Swimming Championships. Walsh shared, "Every tiny detail—like timing and the strategic distribution of my race segments—is crucial for me. I simply love pushing myself to the limit, especially during those final 25 meters."

Walsh is the third American to win this event at the World Short Course Championships, following Jenny Thompson (1997, 1999, 2000) and Kelsi Dahlia (2018).

Australian athlete Alexander Perkins (55.10) won the silver medal, while Swedish swimmer Louise Hansen (55.23) took home the bronze.

Men's 100m Butterfly — Noe Ponti Breaks Caeleb Dressel's World Record

Swiss swimmer Noè Ponti shattered the world record with a time of 47.71 seconds, besting the previous mark of 47.78 seconds set by American star Caeleb Dressel in November 2020. This also marks Ponti’s third world-record performance at this year’s Short Course World Championships.

In 2023, France's world champion Maxime Grousset took second place with a time of 48.57, while Australia's Matthew Temple clinched the bronze medal at 48.71.

Twenty-three-year-old Ponty missed out on the podium at the Paris Olympics, but this fall he made an incredible comeback, smashing multiple world records in the 50m and 100m butterfly events and pocketing substantial prize money across three stops of the World Cup series.

Women's 400m individual medley—Summer McIntosh sets a stunning world record with a time of 4:15.48

Canada's McIntosh shattered Mireia Belmonte’s world record of 4:18.94, set in 2014, with a time of 4:15.48—marking the 24th world record of this year’s championships and surpassing the previous record for most world records set at a single World Short Course Championships, which was set a decade ago in Doha.

McIntosh said, "I might be able to push for 4:16, but 4:15 is definitely not what I’ve been dreaming of." "So yes, overall, I’m really excited about the race—but honestly, right now, my focus is on warming up. Staying present is key. I’m just concentrating on finding my rhythm and getting a real sense of how I’ll feel when the race actually begins."

American athlete Katie Grimes won the silver medal in 4:20.14. British swimmer Abby Woodward claimed the bronze, marking her first-ever individual medal.

Men's 400m individual medley—Ilia Borodin becomes the first non-Seto champion in 14 years

Ilya Borodin of the Neutral Athletes Team clinched the men’s 400m individual medley title with a time of 3:56.83, marking his second-place finish at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Short Course World Championships. This is the first time since the 2010 Dubai World Championships that Daiya Seto has failed to win the 400m individual medley—Seto had placed ninth in the morning preliminaries and narrowly missed advancing to the final.

American swimmer Carson Foster (3:57.45) claimed his eighth career World Championship silver medal—across both long-course and short-course events.

Italian athlete Alberto Razzetti (3:58.83) won the bronze medal, finishing ahead of Japan's Kaito Tabuchi (4:00.43) and Great Britain's Max Litchfield (4:00.50).

Men's 800m Freestyle — Zalan Sarkany Claims Hungary's First Championship Gold Medal

The 21-year-old Hungarian athlete, Zalan Sarkany, clinched Hungary's first-ever gold medal in the 800m freestyle event, finishing with a time of 7:30.56.

Sarkani competed against 1500m champion Ahmed Javadi, with the Tunisian taking the lead after the first 325 meters. By the 350-meter mark, Sarkani had seized control of the race and maintained his commanding lead all the way to the finish line. This marks Hungary’s ninth medal of the week.

German swimmer Florian Wellbrock clinched the silver medal with a time of 7:31.90, narrowly beating Javad for the bronze (7:31.93). Notably, Javad’s performance also set a new African record.

Mixed 4x100m medley relay — Neutral athletes defeat the U.S. to claim gold

The neutral athletes' team clinched the gold medal with a time of 3:30.47, while the U.S. team took home the silver with a time of 3:30.55.

The team of neutral athletes—Miro Livențev (48.90), Kirill Prigoda (54.86), Alina Sukova (55.63), and Daria Klepikova (51.08)—won their first-ever gold medal at the Short Course World Championships.

The U.S. team—composed of Regan Smith (54.19), Lilly King (1:03.05), Darian Ross (48.68), and Jack Alexy (44.63)—gave it their all, with Smith even setting an unofficial world record during the lead—but it still wasn’t enough to secure the gold medal.

The Canadian team (3:31.97) — featuring Ingrid Wilm (55.82), Finley Knox (56.39), Ilya Haarun (48.27), and Marie-Sophie Harvey (51.49) — clinched the bronze medal, narrowly defeating Australia (3:32.83) to claim their 13th medal of the week.

The United Kingdom (3:35.46) finished fifth, ahead of Spain (3:35.52), Italy (3:35.54), and the Netherlands (3:36.04).

Women's 50m breaststroke semifinal—Lithuanian swimmer Meluteit nearly broke her own world record with a time of 28.39, surpassing the previous mark of 28.37 she set in 2022. China's Tang Qianting, the 100m champion, finished second with 28.86, while American star Lilly King came in third at 28.99.

Men's 50m breaststroke semifinal—Neutral Athlete Team’s Kirill Prigoda topped the standings after two rounds with a time of 25.48, edging out China’s Qin Haiyang, the 100m champion, who clocked 25.60. South Africa’s Chris Smith (25.66) made history by breaking the world junior record, finishing third in what marked the 18-year-old’s debut at the World Short Course Championships.

Women's 50m freestyle semifinal—Gretchen Walsh, as precise as a clock, shattered her eighth world record of the week, lowering Ranomi Kromowidjojo's 2017 mark of 22.87 to 22.93 and earning herself the $25,000 world-record-breaking bonus.

Speaking about her eighth world record this week, Walsh said: "Honestly, I can hardly believe it myself. It’s not bragging—well, maybe a little—but I’m not sure if anyone has ever managed to set so many back-to-back records. I think it’s truly amazing, and I feel incredibly honored to be at this stage and to have accomplished what I’m currently doing." Walsh also became the first American athlete to hold the world record in this event.

Teammate Kate Douglas (23.35) also advanced to the final, where she’ll compete alongside Walsh. Meanwhile, Kasia Wasik of Poland, the silver medalist from the 2022 World Championships in Melbourne (23.46), finished in third place.

Men's 50m freestyle semifinal—Jordan Crooks of the Cayman Islands clocks 19.90 seconds, breaking the world record.

Jordan Crooks swam a stunning 19.90 in the semifinals, becoming the first athlete to break the 20-second barrier and setting a new world record. His previous personal best was 20.08. Crooks is the reigning champion from the 2022 Melbourne Short Course World Championships.

American swimmer Jack Alexi finished second with a time of 20.51. Alexi edged out Crooks in the 100-meter freestyle race.

Brazilian athlete Guilherme Santos finished third in his semifinal with a time of 20.59 seconds. South Korean swimmer Ji Yoo-chan, who clocked 20.80 seconds, placed eighth but still advanced to the championship final.

Defending bronze medalist Dylan Carter of Trinidad and Tobago (20.82) finished ninth and failed to advance to the final.