Rising UVA senior Gretchen Walsh will represent Team USA in two events at the 2024 Paris Games, adding the 50-meter freestyle to her schedule with a second-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday.
Walsh finished in 24.15 seconds. A former UVA teammate, Maxine Parker, came in eighth in 24.90 seconds.
Walsh had already qualified for the Paris Games with a first-place finish in 100-meter butterfly, setting a new world record in the process, at 55.18 seconds.
Walsh will be joined at the 2024 Olympics by her sister, Alex Walsh, and UVA teammate Emma Weber, with two former UVA swimmers, Kate Douglass and Paige Madden, rounding out a quintet of UVA competitors.
That’s the most UVA representatives from swimming at a single Olympic Games.
The U.S. women’s squad will be coached by Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo.
Alex Walsh, Douglass and Madden all competed and won medals at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Team USA Qualifying Results (top two finishes)
Kate Douglass: 1st in the 200 Breaststroke, 1st in the 100 Freestyle, 1st in the 200 Individual Medley
Paige Madden: 2nd in the 200 Freestyle, 2nd in the 800 Freestyle
Alex Walsh: 2nd in 200 Individual Medley
Gretchen Walsh: 1st in the 100 Butterfly, 2nd in the 50 Free
Emma Weber: 2nd in the 100 Breaststroke
Share
Chris Graham
