American Women Setting Up World Record Challenge in 400 Freestyle Relay
Australia has not lost the women’s 400 freestyle relay in nine years, a stretch dating back to the 2017 World Championships. Most recently, the Aussies scraped out a win over the United States by less than a half-second at the Singapore World Championships last July. However, the American women had shown enough speed to become the favorite in this relay entering the Pan Pacific Championships, even before Australian star Mollie O’Callaghan withdrew due to injury.
But Pan Pacs gold might be just the beginning. Now, the American women have assembled a roster talented and deep enough to threaten the world record.
The group was gelling at last year’s selection meet, when Torri Huske swam the fastest time in the world in the 100 free at 52.43 while Gretchen Walsh and Simone Manuel both went under 53. Manuel, at 52.83, swam sub-53 for the first time in six years. Add in Kate Douglass, who had won Olympic Trials a year earlier in 52.56, and the relay was legitimate.
Rylee Erisman — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Illness derailed their world-title hopes. Walsh withdrew from the relay at the last minute, forcing Erin Gemmell onto the team in her place, and Huske faded badly down the stretch. Still, losing by 0.44 was hardly a disaster given the circumstances. And weeks later, the Americans got another boost from the emergence of Rylee Erisman, who won five gold medals and three silvers at the World Junior Championships. Most impressive among those swims was a 52.79 100 free, making her the sixth-quickest swimmer in the world all year.
That swim gave Erisman a spot on this year’s Pan Pacs team, giving the U.S. coaching staff five elite options to choose from entering the team’s largest international competition for 2026. Adding up the four top times by U.S. swimmers in 2025 (Huske, Walsh, Erisman and Manuel) came out to 3:30.83, only 0.23 behind what Australia put up in the Worlds final before accounting for relay starts, which usually lead to a drop of 0.3-0.6 per swimmer.
Right there, the United States has its best core group of female 100 freestylers in years, having spent the better part of two decades chasing Australia in the 400 free relay. Those same swimmers have followed up with impressive results leading into Pan Pacs.
Douglass has stood out in particular, blasting a 51.93 in a time trial at U.S. Nationals Saturday to crush her best time and become the fourth-fastest performer in history. Walsh also has a best time this year, going 52.75 in a time trial Friday. Erisman was just off her top time with a 52.92 at Nationals while Huske’s best this year is 53.05, one of the quickest in-season times she has ever posted, from the Indianapolis Pro Series.
Account for the new best times for Douglass and Walsh plus last year’s results for Huske and Erisman, and the resulting composite time is 3:29.90, already faster than the American record of 3:30.20 the American team posted in winning Olympic silver in Paris. Moreover, the time is 1.5 seconds better than Australia’s winning mark of 3:31.40 from the Commonwealth Games, when O’Callaghan was on the team.
Anna Moesch — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Add in Anna Moesch, and the world record comes into play. Moesch, a relay alternate at last year’s global meet, has exploded this season, carrying her momentum from a dominant sophomore season at Virginia into a pair of stunning 51-second performances. The 20-year-old clocked 51.92 at the AP London International in May, taking down Manuel’s American record of 52.04 and becoming the second-fastest performer in history at the time (now third thanks to world-record-breaker Marrit Steenbergen).
Moesch swam even faster at Nationals, a wire-to-wire win in the 100 free producing a time of 51.88 and another American record. However, that was her last 100-meter race of the season; with no prelims relays at Pan Pacs, only five swimmers were eligible to be selected for relay events based on their 2025 swims, and Moesch ended up with the seventh-best time last year. Her addition to the “A” squad will have to wait until 2027, but imagine what the American women could have in store by then.
Anna Moesch 51.88 + Kate Douglass 51.93 + Torri Huske 52.43 + Gretchen Walsh 52.75 = 3:28.99
That add-up time, based on results from the three Virginia-trained swimmers this year and Huske last year, comes in just one second off Australia’s 2023 world record of 3:27.96. Relay starts should push this group into 3:27 territory, provided they all swim their best on the day.
And that’s before all the improvement this group could make in the next year. Moesch is showing no signs of plateauing, and Walsh is still mastering the long course 100 free. Huske, meanwhile, has a best time of 52.29 with a strong track record in the event, having won individual Olympic silver two years ago. Don’t be surprised if Huske or Erisman, still only 17, drop further time at Pan Pacs.
There is even more talent in reserve behind the standouts. At last week’s Nationals, Liberty Clark finished third in the 100 free in 52.97 while Camille Spink clocked 53.19, both significantly faster than Moesch swam to finish sixth at the 2025 meet, but they would currently sit seventh and eighth, respectively, in the U.S. pecking order in the 100 free. In fact, a U.S. “B” team of Erisman, Manuel, Clark and Spink would probably be the third-best team in the world behind only the top American roster and Australia.
Simply incredible stats for a country in a long gold-medal drought in the 400 free relay. Whichever four Americans end up racing on the squad at Pan Pacs, expect gold, with the promise of more to come in future years.
