American swimmer Walsh sets new 100m butterfly world record in Florida

FLORIDA: American swimmer Gretchen Walsh set a new 100m butterfly world record in Florida, clocking 54.33 seconds to break her own previous best for the third time in a year.

The 23-year-old produced the record swim in Fort Lauderdale, the same venue where she first became the first woman to go under 55 seconds in the event.

Walsh, the reigning world champion, continues her dominance in the discipline and now holds 13 of the fastest times ever recorded in the women’s 100m butterfly.

She had earlier lowered the mark to 54.60 seconds last year after becoming the first woman to break the 55-second barrier.

The American star, who narrowly missed Olympic gold at the Paris Games, is now more than a second faster than the next-best swimmer in history, Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom.