Gretchen Walsh is a competitive swimmer who represents the United States internationally. She is a 3x individual NCAA champion and NCAA-record holder as a part of the 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley relays with Virginia. In 2024 Walsh set the 100 fly world record in the Olympic Trials semifinals before securing her first Olympic bid in the final.
Gretchen first appeared on SwimSwam at the age of 12, the same age that her sister Alex Walsh made her first appearance. Soon after that, Gretchen went on to break numerous NAG records, both as an individual and in relays.
Youngest Under 22
On March 3, 2018, at the Southern Premiere in Nashville, Tennessee, Gretchen broke the 22 second barrier in the 50 free for the first time in her career, touching the wall at 21.85. That was not only a best time, but also set the NAG for 15-16 girls. Oddly enough, Gretchen had already been under the old 15-16 NAG of 22.04 (22.00), but she had only been 14 when she had posted that time, so it wasn’t eligible for the 15-16 record. This made Gretchen the youngest female to ever break 22 seconds in the 50 free.
2018 US Nationals
In the first session in Irvine, Walsh touched in 54.38 in the 100 freestyle, making her the youngest 15-year-old female in US history in the event. That also garnered her a spot in her first A-final at a senior national meet. Her finals swim qualified her for the Jr. Pan Pacific Championships team.
2018 Jr Pan Pacific Championships
In Fiji, Walsh swam the 200 free (12th, 2:01.99), 100 free (1st, 54.47, breaking Simone Manuel’s 2012 meet record), 100 fly (16th in prelims, 1:02.27), and 50 free (2nd, 25.57).
She also swam on Team USA’s gold medal winning mixed 4×100 medley relay, 4×200 free relay, 4×100 free relay, and 4×100 medley relay, netting 5 golds and a silver from the meet.
2019 Southern Premiere
Gretchen kept the good times rolling into 2019, and in her home pool in Nashville dropped 3 NAGs in 1 weekend. First she helped Nashville Aquatic Club to a new record in the 200 medley relay, splitting 21.25 on the anchor leg. She then matched her already existing 15-16 NAG in the 50 free by touching at 21.82 for the 2nd time in her career. On the final day of the meet, she blew away the old 15-16 100 free NAG (held by Simone Manuel) posting a time of 47.49, cutting over 2 tenth off the old record of 47.73.
2019 US Nationals
At the 2019 US nationals, Walsh placed in the top 16 in 4 events, recording personal bests in all of them. She placed 2nd in both the 50 (24.85) and 100 (54.13) free, qualifying her for spots on the World Jr Roster in both events.
She also placed 9th in the 100 back (1:00.26, 2nd fastest time overall in finals) and 13th (58.84) in the 100 fly.
2019 World Junior Championships
Before the start of the meet, Walsh was voted as 1 of 5 captains for Team USA.
In her first finals race of the meet, Walsh split 53.60 anchoring the mixed 400 medley relay, which helped USA net a gold medal and break the world record in the event.
On day 3 of competition, Walsh touched 1st in the 100 free, besting the field by nearly a full second to touch in a personal best of 53.74, marking her first time under the 54 second barrier. Walsh was back less than an hour later, anchoring the mixed 4×100 free relay in 53.83 to touch for gold and a new world junior record of 3:25.92.
Walsh helped the US to another relay gold on day 5, this time in the 4×100 free relay.
On the final day of the meet, Walsh capped her individual events with a win in the 50 free, going a big personal best of 24.71. She finished her program in the 4×100 medley relay, anchoring in 53.01 to help USA win gold.
Commitment to Virginia
Gretchen Walsh was ranked the #1 swimmer in the class of 2021 in SwimSwam’s Way Too Early NCAA Recruits list as a junior in high school. On January 4th, 2020, Gretchen announced she would follow in the footsteps of her sister, sending her verbal commitment to the University of Virginia.
2 National High School Records, 1 Weekend
At the 2020 TISCA State Championships, Walsh took down not 1, but 2 national high school records in the 50 and 100 free. Both were formerly held by 2016 Olympian Abbey Weitzeil. On day 1 of the meet, Walsh swam to a 21.59 in the 50 free, taking .05 off of Weitzeil’s old record. On day 2, Walsh touched at 46.98, winning by over 3 seconds and becoming the 1st girl to break 47 seconds in high school competition.
College (Virginia)
2021-2022
Gretchen had a phenomenal freshman season, going multiple personal bests in-season at dual meets. This was highlighted by Walsh breaking the unofficial American record in the 50 back, clocking a 23.04 leading off the 200 medley relay at the UVA/NC State dual meet in January.
She kept the momentum rolling at her first ACCs, where she placed 2nd in the 50 free (21.04, just .04 behind her teammate Kate Douglass), 2nd in the 100 back (50.13), and 2nd in the 100 free (46.86, again just .05 behind teammate Kate Douglass). She also helped UVA to relays titles in the 200 free (1:24.47, NCAA, US Open, and American record), 200 medley (1:31.81, NCAA, US Open, and American record), 400 medley (3:22.34, NCAA, US Open, and American record), and 400 free (3:08.22, meet record) relays.
At her first NCAA Championships, Walsh placed 2nd in the 50 free (20.95, #3 performer All-Time), 2nd in the 100 back (49.00, #2 performer All-Time), and won her first individual NCAA title in the 100 free at 46.05 (#4 performer All-Time). She also helped UVA to title in the 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley relays, breaking NCAA, US Open, and American record in the 400 medley and free relays.
2022-2023
Walsh continued her momentum into her sophomore season. At ACCs, she broke the NCAA record in the 50 free while winning the event, clocking a 20.83. She also placed 2nd behind teammate Kate Douglass in the 100 fly (49.34) and 100 free (46.32). On relays, Walsh helped UVA set US Open and NCAA records in the 200 free, 400 free, 200 medley, and 400 medley relays.
At NCAAs, Walsh carried her form from ACCs into Knoxville. She started her meet with a 2nd place finish in the 50 free (20.85) to LSU’s Maggie MacNeil, who broke Walsh’s NCAA record with a 20.79. It was Walsh’s only loss of the meet, however, as she went onto crush the NCAA record in the 100 back (48.26) en route to victory and win the 100 free in 45.61, the 2nd fastest swim ever. She was also once again a huge part of UVA sweeping the relays, swimming in the 200&400 free and medleys.
2023-24
Walsh had arguably the greatest college season ever.
The craziness all began before official competition at the UVA intrasquad relay meet, where Walsh clocked a 20.84 50 free split unsuited, a mere .01 seconds off her flat start PB. Also before any official competition, Walsh popped a 50.05 100 back unsuited with touchpads in practice and crushed it at the orange and blue intrasquad, with a 23.33 50 back, 20.82, and a 20.72 50 free split, and a 21.28 50 free flat start.
UVA’s first meet was at Florida. Walsh led off the 400 free relay in a stunning 46.90. While still well off her PB, it was the second time any woman had broken 47 seconds in a practice suit and the 2nd-fastest dual meet 100 free. She had a big day overall, winning both the 100 back (50.29) and 100 free (47.19) individually, and splitting 23.50 on the leadoff of Virginia’s 200 medley relay.
UVA then took on Texas, the 2023 NCAA runner-up, in a two-day meet. Walsh opened the meet with a speedy 22.54 50 back split, the #2 time only to Maggie MacNeil‘s 22.52. She then clocked a 20.95 50 free and a 49.11 100 fly before anchoring a 2.78 anchor in the 200 free relay. On Saturday Walsh kept it going with a 49.17 backstroke leadoff on Virginia’s 400 medley relay. Walsh also triumphed individually in the 100 free with a winning time of 46.42. Walsh concluded her weekend with a 46.46 100 free split. Walsh’s off-the-charts weekend raised the question: was this the greatest dual meet performance ever?
The 2023 Tennessee invite was conducted with LCM prelims and SCY finals. On the first day, Walsh blasted a 24.69 50 free in the morning, just .38 seconds off her PB. In the final Walsh tied Maggie MacNeil’s NCAA record time of 20.79 from the 2023 NCAA Championships, and broke her own American record. Earlier in that session, Walsh had blazed a 20.36 50 free split to anchor UVA’s 200 free relay. Walsh opted to race the 200 free on day 2. She was a little bland in prelims with a 2:01.71 (LCM) but lit it up in the finals as she reached the wall in 1:41.32, shaving almost two seconds off her previous best to become the #11 performer all-time.
The next morning, disaster seemed to strike in the 100 free as she clocked a 57.08, but Walsh swam the race butterfly, making it the 3rd fastest time of her career. She swam fly again in the SCY finals and dropped a 48.30 from lane 9 to unofficially break her former Cavalier teammate Kate Douglass’ American and NCAA record by 0.16 seconds. In the 400 free relay, Walsh blazed a 45.18 to establish the fastest rolling 100 yard free split in history, just surpassing Maggie Mac Neil’s 45.26.
Rolling in from the Knoxville PSS, Walsh did not miss a beat as she threw down a mind-melting 21.92 50 fly split on the UVA 200 medley relay, the 3rd fastest ever. She also flexed her versatility, winning the 100 breast in a 59.75.
At the UVA/NC State/UNC tri-meet, Walsh’s meet madness continued. On Friday night Walsh led off Virginia’s 400 medley relay in a 48.77, setting a new pool record. Closing the meet, Walsh split a 20.19 on the second leg of the 200 freestyle relay. That was the fastest 50 free split of all time… and she was unsuited for both swims. She also popped a 20.98 50 free. On Saturday, Walsh maintained her dominance, clocking a 21.5 butterfly split to kick off the session on UVA’s 200 medley relay. That marked the fastest split ever by .35 seconds, and Walsh remained in a practice suit. Walsh later clocked a 46.40 100 free, the fastest time in the nation.
At the Cavalier Invite, Walsh swam her 6th nation-leading time with a 1:52.34 200 IM.
Waslsh was firing on all cylinders at ACC Championships. On the first night, UVA staff opted to load up the 800 free relay instead of the 200 medley relay. Walsh led off the 800 free relay. She was remarkable through the 100 yard mark, splitting 22.24/24.91 to go 47.15. She fell off the pace a little with a pair of 26s but still posted a remarkable 1:40.23, making Walsh #3 all-time.
We knew we were in for a treat come finals when Walsh broke the 50 free NCAA record in prelims with a 20.77, .02 seconds faster than her old mark. To kick off the night 2 finals, Walsh did the unthinkable. When Walsh touched the wall on the 2nd leg of UVA’s 200 free relay, there was an audible gasp as the scoreboard showed she split a 19.95, the first split under 20 seconds. UVA also broke the NCAA record with a 1:23.63. In the 50 free final, Walsh took another .2 seconds off her mark with a 20.57.
The next night, Walsh wildness struck again as she clocked a 48.25 100 fly, taking down Kate Douglass’s US open record. Walsh undercut her unofficial PB set at midseason in a 100 free by .05 seconds.
Walsh kept rolling the next night, taking down her 3rd US Open/NCAA record with a 48.10 100 back leading off UVA’s victorious 400 medley relay. On the final night, it was no surprise, given all Walsh had already done, that she broke Simone Manuel’s 100 free US Open/NCAA record of 45.56. Walsh had neared the 7-year-old mark at 2023 NCAAs with a 45.61 but blew past it tonight with a 45.15.
At NCAAs, Walsh opted not to defend her 100 back title, going for the 100 fly instead. On night one, Walsh got things started for Virginia with the fastest 50 backstroke split in history. She fired off a 22.10, eclipsing Maggie MacNeil‘s 22.52 mark by a monstrous .42 seconds to help the Cavaliers win the 200 medley relay.
As she did at ACCs, Walsh broke all the 50 free records in prelims with a 20.41 to easily qualify first. She did it again in finals with a 20.37 and won handily. While Walsh did not split 19 again, she still clocked a speedy 20.23 to help UVA to the 200 free relay title.
Walsh was just .01 seconds off her PB and NCAA record of 48.25 in the 100 fly prelims so we expected another record come finals. What we did not expect was her to win by 2.28 seconds in the final and lower her record by .83 seconds with an absurd 47.42. Walsh put her foot down from the very start of the race; when she popped up after her start she was already half a body length ahead of the field. She turned at the 25-yard mark in 9.94, and hit the halfway point in a blistering 21.75. That time would’ve made the ‘B’ final of the 50 freestyle and finished 11th. She split 25.67 on the way home to her record-breaking 47.42. Walsh’s time was 5.55% faster than the #16 performer of all time, the 2nd largest margin of any current NCAA record behind Dressel’s 17.63 50 free.
At the end of the same session, Walsh led off UVA’s NCAA record-breaking 400 medley relay in a 48.26, .16 seconds off her own 100 back NCAA record. In a later interview, Walsh mentioned her goal was to break 48-seconds in both the 100 back and 100 fly.
On the last night, Walsh continued her tear with an absurd 44.83 100 free. That shaved .33 seconds off of her PB and made Walsh the 1st woman ever under 45 seconds. She ended the meet with a 45.17 split on UVA’s victorious 400 free relay. While .34 seconds off her PB, Walsh’s split still marked the fastest flying start 100 free ever.
Obviously, Walsh won the CSCAA D1 Women’s Swimmer of the Year and our Swammy for Women’s NCAA Swimmer of the Year.
National/International Swimming
2022 U.S. Summer Nationals
Over the course of the week in Irvine, CA Walsh raced the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, and 100 butterfly, winning the National Title in the latter of the four events with her time of 57.44. She also earned runner-up finishes in both the 50 freestyle (24.47) and 100 freestyle (53.86), while finishing 5th in the 100 backstroke (1:00.03). Notably, this meet served as a “redemption” meet for Walsh, who failed to qualify for the 2022 US World Championships team and the 2021 Olympic Team after entering as a favorite to make both teams.
Citing her mental strategy, Walsh’s Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo had her wearing a practice suit through the prelims of the 100 freestyle, not allowing her to race in a tech suit until she hit a predetermined time standard. Based on the fact that she raced in a tech suit for the 100 freestyle final and throughout the remainder of the weekend, Walsh’s prelims time of 54.77 presumptuously hit the standard.
2023 U.S. International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
In the 100 free, Walsh was 4th through the prelims with a 53.64. The time was a personal best by .1 seconds, her first best in the event since her breakout 53.74 at the 2019 World Junior Championships. In the final, she qualified for her first World Championships with a 53.14 for 3rd and a relay spot. The next morning in the 50 fly, she dropped a hunk of time off her previous best of 25.97 with a 25.54 for top seed. Despite her slow start, Walsh posted an American and U.S. Open Record in the 50 fly with a 25.11. “I’ve come a long way. I’m just excited to go. I want to go to Japan,” said Walsh post-race. The swim tied her as the 3rd fastest performer of all time behind Swedes Sarah Sjostoem and Therese Alshammar and even with Rikako Ikee.
In the 100 fly final, Gretchen Walsh was slow off the blocks but got out to the lead at the 50 under the World Record pace with a 25.68. Reigning world champions Huske and Kate Douglass pulled closer down the stretch to steal a way to victory on the finish as Huske finished 1st and Walsh 2nd. The top three finishers: Huske (56.18), Walsh (56.34), and Kate Douglass (56.43) posted the top three times in the World.
Walsh took on the 50 back, placing 3rd in 27.54. She wrapped up her meet with the 50 free. She posted a personal best of 24.31 for 2nd behind Abbey Weitzeil’s 24.00.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
At her first Worlds, Walsh was slightly off her bests in all her swims but probably met expectations with her perflormances. In the 100 fly, she advanced through all rounds. Walsh was 8th in prelims (57.74), 6th in semis (57.14), and 8th in the final (57.58). Her PB of 56.34 would have netted silver.
Walsh led of the silver-worthy 400 free relay in 54.06 but even her best time there would have done nothing more to improve their placement. The 50 fly was probably Walsh’s best event of the meet. She was 6th in prelims (25.78) and 3rd in semis (25.48) before ripping a 25.46 for bronze in the final. That final was just minutes befor the 50 free semifinal where Walsh failed to make it back in 24.71. She bounced back with a 57.06 split on the 400 medley relay as the American Women won their first relay gold of the meet.
2023 U.S. Open Championships (Greensboro, North Carolina)
Walsh was solid, clocking a 24.42 50 free, a 53.95 100 free, and a 56.85 100 fly, all among her career fastest performances.
2024 Pro Swim Series – Knoxville
Walsh clocked a couple of season bests, taking second in the 100 free with a 53.64 and winning the 100 fly in 56.78. She opted to forgo the final day of competition to swim in the UVA/VT dual meet.
2024 Olympic Team Trials
Walsh kicked things off in the 100 fly. After a transcendent NCAA season, Walsh showed she could get it done in the LCM pool. In prelims, she dropped a big best time of 55.94. That made her just the 6th woman ever under 56 seconds and the #2 American all-time behind Torri Huske’s 55.62. That was just a taste of what was to come. In the 2nd semi, having seen Huske rock a 55.79 just before her, Walsh was out in an unprecedented 25.45 despite being last off the blocks. That was .53 seconds under Sarah Sjöström’s world record split. With that massive margin, Walsh came home in a 29.73, off of WR pace but still smashed the 8-year-old mark with an absurd 55.18.
In the final the next night, Walsh was out even faster with a 25.20 at the 50, despite being last of the blocks. That split neared her 50 fly American record of 25.11. She paid for it on the back half, coming home in a 30.11 but that lead she got early on was enough padding to hold off charges from Torri Huske and Regan Smith to earn her first Olympic ticket with a 55.31.
Walsh then took on the 100 free. She was 3rd in prelims with a 53.60 and 4th in semis with a 53.33. In the final, she took the race out like a rocket, flipping in 25.00. Down the stretch, both Douglass and Huske out split her 28.13 closing split to pass her and Walsh touched 3rd in a PB of 53.13 to add the 400 free relay to her Olympic schedule.
In her final event, the 50 free, Walsh was just 24.72 in prelims. In semis though, she roared to life. In the second semi, she and Torri Huske squared off and pushed each other to PBs. Walsh got the better of Huske by three-hundredths, swimming a 24.06 to Huske’s 24.09. That was a .23-second PB and moved her to #4 in American history. In the final, Walsh was last off the block and added .09 seconds but still got to the wall in 2nd with a 24.25, .02 seconds back of Simone Manuel.
