The women’s 100-meter butterfly looked to belong to Gretchen Walsh.
Even before Sunday, Walsh had set the Olympic and world records in the event, and after the first 50 meters of the final in Paris, she was ahead of the field and challenging her own record pace.
But then, one lane over, came fellow American Torri Huske, who put forth a monstrous final 25 meters to come back and out-touch Walsh by four-hundredths of a second for gold, completing her own redemption from losing bronze by a mere hundredth three summers ago in Tokyo to stand on the top step of the podium.
American swimmer Torri Huske reacts after winning gold in the 100m butterfly at the Olympics on July 28, 2024. AP
USA’s Gretchen Walsh (r.) hugs Torri Huske after Huske edges Walsh for the 100m butterfly gold on July 28, 2024. Getty Images
After winning, Huske appeared to say “Oh my God,” before swimming over and hugging Walsh, who finished with silver.
“I feel like I’m in shock right now,” Huske said in the immediate aftermath on NBC. “I don’t even know how to process it. I feel like I need to cry but I’m also smiling. It’s really surreal. Like you said I just missed the podium last time by a hundredth. … I’ve had a long road and support and I’m thankful for all of it.”
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Torri Huske swims in the women’s 100m butterfly final at the Olympics on July 28, 2024. APIt marked the first time the United States had gone 1-2 in the women’s 100-meter fly since 1984. Chinese swimmer Zhang Yufei took bronze. Defending gold medalist Maggie MacNeil, a Canadian, finished fifth, with the top five covered by under one second.
Huske’s gold was the second for Team USA at these Olympics after men’s swimming won the 4×100-meter freestyle relay on Saturday night. By the end of the night, the Americans had a third, in fencing, with 12 total medals to lead the field.
Huske, a native of Arlington, Va., won silver in the 4×100-meter medley relay in Tokyo, but this marked her first Olympic gold.
“It’s really really cool,” Walsh said on NBC of her teammate. “I mean I feel like just the crowd has been amazing. It was so cool to just watch the men’s 400 IM. It’s really cool that we’re gonna be 1-2 on the podium today.”
Walsh, the record-holder from Nashville, Tenn., had been favored in the event, with Huske thought likely to finish second. In that sense, the race was not a surprise.
That the order of finish was reversed, however — and the way in which it was reversed — marked a stunner.
“It was an amazing race. I was definitely nervous before, I feel like there was a lot of pressure on me just having gotten the world record and the Olympic record [Saturday] night, and I just wanted to try to execute the race as best as I could,” Walsh told reporters in Paris. “It was definitely a fight to the finish and seeing the 1-2 up there though was amazing. I’m so proud of Torri, I’m proud of myself. That was what America needed and wanted.”
