Kate Douglass surged home in 23.59sec to break Sarah Sjostrom's 50m freestyle world record in a scintillating final at the Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis on Friday.
The versatile Douglass, the 200m breaststroke gold medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, sliced two-hundredths of a second off the previous world record of 23.61 set by Sweden's Sjostrom at the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, on July 29, 2023.
Douglass shattered her personal best of 23.91 – the previous American record she shared with Gretchen Walsh.
To do so she powered past Walsh in the closing 15 metres, beaming in astonishment when she saw the time on the scoreboard.
"I mean, wow, that's crazy," Douglass told broadcaster Peacock in a poolside interview. "I think I'm still in shock. I don't even know what to say.
"I was really just hoping to go best time, break the American record," she added. "That's a lot faster than I ever thought I would go tonight – or ever."
Walsh was second in 23.78, making her the fifth-fastest performer ever in the event, and had a big hug across the lane rope for her US teammate. Anna Moesch was third in 24.20.