INDIANAPOLIS — A few short years before the world record fell, before Gretchen Walsh broke through and announced herself as an Olympic star-to-be, scary thoughts would dance through her brain and hinder her.
They danced every time Walsh crept toward a pool like the one she conquered Saturday and Sunday night, when she qualified for Paris 2024 in the 100-meter butterfly.
They danced despite limitless athletic potential.
When Walsh dove into 25-yard pools, she’d slither through water and into record books.
But, on the blocks of any 50-meter pool, she’d essentially prepare to fail.