How did Pelham’s championship swimmer Kate Douglass react after being dethroned from her position as the world’s fastest women’s swimmer after only nine days?

It “was fun while it lasted,” she wrote in an Instagram post after Gretchen Walsh–her former University of Virginia teammate and current training partner–surpassed Douglass’ world record in the women’s 50-meter freestyle by posting a time of 23.55 seconds on June 28 in Italy. Nine days earlier, Douglass broke the existing record with a time of 23.59 in the event.

Setting this record in the so-called “splash and dash” – the swimming equivalent of the 100-meter dash – now puts Walsh in front of Douglass as the world’s fastest women’s swimmer.

But the way women’s swimming records are falling these days, none of the elite swimmers of this era should expect to hold titles in perpetuity.  On July 5, Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh set a new world record in the women’s 200-meter butterfly when she finished a trial in 2:01.65 seconds. The previous record–2:01.81–was set in 2009.

Meanwhile, Douglass and Walsh appear to be going full speed ahead in their swimming careers.  Douglass credits her teammates with pushing her to be her best, and said she was inspired by some of the women’s swimming champions who came before her.

“When I was younger, I looked up to swimmers like Missy Franklin and Maya DiRado,” said Douglass in a post published by the Team USA Swimming Instagram account. Franklin and DiRado won Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016.  “I remember thinking they were so cool and that it would be amazing to be like them someday.  As I got older, I looked up to my teammates more and used them as inspiration to work harder and to be a better athlete and person.”

Douglass and Walsh are sure to continue to push one another to new heights in the world of competitive women’s swimming.