There’s a new world record holder in the men’s 100 freestyle, as Jack Alexy, who represented the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics, smashed the accolade on Saturday.
Alexy, racing for the California Golden Bears in the 2026 USA Swimming Short Course World Championship Trials in Westmont, Illinois, came down the final stretch in the pool with a chance to break the previous 44.84-second record.
Reaching for the wall, Alexy got his hand on it at 44.64. As he looked up at the final time, he slapped the water in elation, understanding that he is in the record books now.
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Alexy has flirted with the world record in the past, winning his first individual gold medal in the men’s 100-meter free final at the World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Budapest in December 2024. He had an official time of 45.38 seconds.
Alexy’s Team USA teammate from Paris, Chris Guiliano, swimming for the University of Notre Dame, finished second in this race with a final time of 45.22. And another Olympian, Caeleb Dressel, came in third at 45.65.
Alexy took home his first gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Then, he broke the American and world championship record with a lead-off time of 45.05 seconds in Hungary months later. Guiliano was also on that relay squad.
This world record comes four weeks after Russia’s Egor Kornev equaled the world record in the short-course version of the 100-meter freestyle during the World Cup competition.
“That felt pretty good,” Alexy said after his race, per Swimming World Magazine. “The goal was to qualify for the 50 and 100 individually. I was pretty confident I could get that done after this morning.
“I tried to ride the adrenaline of the crowd. Any time I have the opportunity to race against a U.S. field like that at a selection meet, it is more nerve-wracking, which is a good thing. It is a good thing to have that pressure because that is what we will be facing.”
Alexy added that he’s hoping to go even faster in Beijing for the World Aquatics Swimming Championships, which will take place from Dec. 1 to 6.