Swimming world record lasts just nine days as Gretchen Walsh breaks 50 freestyle mark in Rome

American swimmer Gretchen Walsh broke the women's 50 meter freestyle world record on Sunday at the Sette Colli meet in Rome, clocking 23.55 seconds — just nine days after her training partner Kate Douglass had set the previous mark of 23.59 seconds in Indianapolis on June 19. Walsh shaved 0.04 seconds off Douglass's record, while former world record holder Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden finished second in 23.86 seconds.