Torri Huske triumphed over her US teammate and world record holder Gretchen Walsh by a narrow margin of 0.04 seconds to clinch the women’s 100m butterfly gold in an exhilarating race on Sunday.
The 2022 world champion finished with a time of 55.59 seconds, marking the USA’s first individual gold of the 2024 Games – following the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team’s gold medal win on Saturday night. Walsh secured the silver with a time of 55.63 after leading the race at the halfway mark while setting a world record pace. China’s Zhang Yufei earned the bronze medal.
“I feel like I’m in shock right now, like I don’t even know how to process it, like I need to cry but I’m also smiling,” Huske expressed after the race.
This gold medal is a remarkable achievement for Huske, who narrowly missed a butterfly medal in Tokyo three years ago by just 0.01 seconds. She surged ahead from third to first place in the final quarter of the race. Huske now holds three Olympic medals: a silver in Saturday’s 4x100m freestyle and another silver in the 4x100m medley at the Tokyo Games.
Huske’s victory means there has not been a repeat winner in this event since its inception in 1956. Canada’s defending champion, Maggie Mac Neil, finished in fifth place.
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Walsh had established an Olympic record of 55.38 seconds in the semi-final on Saturday, a time that would have easily secured her the gold medal had she replicated it on Sunday.
