Torri Huske, an 18-year-old native of Arlington, Virginia, made history Sunday night, setting the new American record for the women’s 100-meter butterfly at 55.78 seconds.
The Arlington Aquatic Club swimmer became the second American to break the 56-second mark in the event, beating Dana Vollmer, who swam the 100-meter butterfly at 55.98 at the 2012 Olympics in London.
Huske’s performance in the semifinal of the U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, beat her previous personal best by nearly a full second, and she has another opportunity to swim Monday night in the final.
The world record of 55.48 is within striking distance for Huske, as is qualification for next month’s Tokyo Games.
Huske beat out 16-year-old Clair Curzan to be seeded first in the final by less than half a second. Huske is set to attend Stanford University for swimming.
She wasn’t the only American to break a record on the first day of the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Michael Andrew, a senior at the University of Florida, broke the U.S. record in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke with a 58.19 in the preliminary round before breaking the record again Sunday night with a time of 58.14.
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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