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

American swimmer Gretchen Walsh broke the world record in the women's 50 meter freestyle on Sunday, just nine days after her training partner Kate Douglass had set a new mark in the sprint distance. Walsh clocked 23.55 seconds at the Sette Colli meet in Rome to shave 0.04 seconds off the record Douglass set in Indianapolis on June 19. Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden, who held the world record before Douglass, finished second on Sunday in 23.86.