Jack Alexy smashes 100m freestyle world record at US trials
American swimmer Jack Alexy has smashed the men’s 100-metre freestyle world record, clocking 44.64 seconds at the United States trials for the World Short Course Championships. The swim came on Friday night, 30 October, in the final at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois. It was Alexy’s first individual world record, and it cut two tenths of a second — 0.20 seconds — off the old mark of 44.84 seconds.
The old record had been shared by two swimmers. Australia’s Kyle Chalmers set 44.84 seconds in 2021, and Russia’s Egor Kornev matched it four weeks ago. Alexy went out fast, turning at the halfway point in 21.25 seconds, and came home in 23.39 seconds to win by more than half a second. Chris Guiliano was second in 45.22 seconds, and veteran Caeleb Dressel was third in 45.65 seconds.
The signs had been there in the morning. In the heats, Guiliano clocked 45.17 seconds and Alexy 45.09 seconds, both United States Open records. Alexy said afterwards that he wanted to go even faster at the world championships in Beijing. “I am hoping to go even faster in Beijing,” he said.
Alexy was not the only record-breaker on the night. Claire Curzan won the women’s 100-metre backstroke in 53.92 seconds, beating fellow American Regan Smith’s world record by a tenth of a second. Three more world records had already fallen on Thursday, in a remarkable week for American swimming.
Why it matters
Alexy is already the reigning world champion in the short-course 100 metres freestyle, and he won gold in the event at the Pan Pacific Championships this summer. That makes him the swimmer to beat at the world championships in Beijing in December. Short-course races are swum in a 25-metre pool, half the length of the 50-metre pools used at the Olympics, so swimmers turn more often and races are usually faster.
What happens next
The trials finished on Saturday, 31 October, and Alexy has qualified for the United States team for the World Short Course Championships in Beijing, which run from 1 to 6 December at the Water Cube. He will race the 50-metre and 100-metre freestyle there, and after Friday’s swim, he will arrive as the world record holder.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.
Sources
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/jack-alexy-destroys-world-record-in-100-freestyle-at-u-s-short-course-trials/ (Swimming World Magazine, 31 October 2026)
- https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/claire-curzan-jack-alexy-world-records-swimming-short-course-trials (NBC Sports, 30 October 2026)
