IRVINE, Calif. -- Kate Douglass lowered her own world-record time in the women's 50-meter freestyle for the second time Saturday, winning the final of the Pan Pacific Championships in 23.19 seconds.
In the morning preliminaries, she swam 23.49 to take the mark from teammate Gretchen Walsh, who finished second in the evening final in 23.74.
Douglass returned 25 minutes later to finish second in the 200 breaststroke. She rallied from third down the stretch but couldn't catch Alexanne Lepage of Canada, who led the entire race and touched in a lifetime best of 2:21.73. Douglass finished in 2:22.57.
"I feel like I'm just a little bit shocked," Lepage said.
Walsh had owned the 50 free record of 23.55 since setting it in June at an international meet in Rome.
It's the third time Douglass has lowered the world mark in the sprint race. She first did it on June 19 at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Indianapolis, posting a time of 23.59. Nine days later, Walsh lowered it again.
Fourteen minutes after climbing out of the pool, Douglass appeared on the medals podium in her cap and goggles to accept her gold. The other medalists were dressed in their usual team sweats. Eleven minutes after that, Douglass dived in for the 200 breast final.
Douglass capped a busy night by anchoring the U.S. women to a dominant victory in the 4 x 100 medley relay. Their time of 3:50.43 was a championship record. Australia was second in 3:55.09.
Douglass is a five-time Olympic medalist. She earned silver in the 50 free at the 2024 world championships but didn't compete in the event at the 2024 Paris Games.
Her 50 free was the second individual world record set at the meet that includes swimmers from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan and China, among others.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
