Kate Douglass made history by breaking her own world record in the women’s 50m freestyle not once, but twice in a single day during the Pan Pacific Championships. The 24-year-old American first set the record in the morning preliminaries with a time of 23.49 seconds, surpassing teammate Gretchen Walsh, who had previously held the record. Douglass then clinched the final in 23.19 seconds, with Walsh finishing second in 23.74 seconds, while Meg Harris of Australia took third in 23.89 seconds.

Just 25 minutes after her record-breaking swim, Douglass competed in the 200 breaststroke, finishing second to Alexanne Lepage of Canada, who led the entire race and touched the wall at 2:21.73. Douglass finished in 2:22.57.

This achievement marks the third time Douglass has lowered the world mark in the 50m freestyle. She initially set the record at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis on June 19, posting a time of 23.59 seconds. Walsh had previously set the record at 23.55 seconds in June at an international meet in Rome.

Douglass, a five-time Olympic medallist, previously earned silver in the 50m freestyle at the 2024 world championships but did not compete in the event at the 2024 Paris Games.

The meet also saw Jamie Jack of Australia winning the men’s 50m freestyle in a championship record of 21.35 seconds, with Jack Alexy of the USA taking silver in 21.42 seconds. In the 200 individual medley, Yu Yiting of China not only won but set a championship record with a time of 2:07.45, defeating world record-holder Summer McIntosh.

McIntosh, who claimed silver in the 200 freestyle and bronze in the 4 x 200 freestyle relay, expressed disappointment in her overall performance, stating, "It wasn’t a horrible swim, but getting touched out is something that is never a good thing to feel."

In the men’s 200 IM, Tomoyuki Matushita of Japan emerged victorious with a time of 1:56.02, finishing ahead of Carson Foster of the USA.