Kate Douglass And Gretchen Walsh Clock 21-Low 50 Frees At UVA Sprint Olympics

On Tuesday, UVA held their annual sprint Olympics, where swimmers suited up and raced 50s of each stroke. This meet happens every year a week out from women’s NCAAs and two weeks out from men’s NCAAs.

• Click here to see the full 2022 UVA sprint Olympic results.

The biggest standouts from this year’s sprint Olympics were, of course, the “big three” for the UVA women: Alex Walsh, Gretchen Walsh, and Kate Douglass. Leading the way was Douglass, who clocked a 22.27 50 fly, 23.54 50 back, 26.90 50 breast, and 21.15 50 free, combining for a time of 1:33.86. She was over half a second faster than she was when she raced at this competition last year.

Douglass saw the most improvement in her 50 breast from last year to this year, as she dropped from a 27.33 to a 26.90. This bodes extremely well for NCAAs, as Douglass’s 50 breast split in her 200 IM at ACCs was exactly half a second slower than Walsh’s 50 breast split from when she set her 200 IM NCAA record last season—in other words, breaststroke is the primary reason as to why Douglass is still off Walsh’s record. If Douglass can close the gap between her and Walsh in this 50 breast leg, the odds of her winning her 200 IM showdown with Walsh in a week will increase exponentially.

Meanwhile, Douglass’s 22.27 flat start 50 fly is just 0.32 seconds off her fastest 50 fly relay split time of 21.96, and her 21.15 50 free is the fastest 50 free she’s swum outside of a championship meet. Her personal best in the 50 free is a 20.84, which is the second-fastest performance of all-time.

Gretchen Walsh‘s combined time was nearly a second faster than last year, as she made major improvements on breaststroke and butterfly. Her butterfly drops can be attributed to the fact that she’s been racing the 100 fly more often, as she recently took second to Douglass at ACCs in a new best time of 49.32 and is ranked 4th in the nation for the event.

The most impressive swim of the meet was arguably G. Walsh’s 21.03 50 free, a time that would have made her tied with Erika Brown as the fourth-fastest performer of all time had she not already been the fastest in history. Walsh’s best time of 20.83 that she swam at ACCs this year is an NCAA, US Open, and American record.

Alex Walsh‘s swims combined for a time of 1:37.21, and she was not faster in any of her swims compared to last year. That being said, she is more distance-oriented than Douglass and G. Walsh and also tends to be slower in-season compared to them, so this sprint Olympics isn’t the best gauge of her true abilities.

Douglass/Walsh/Walsh 2022 vs. 2023:

On the men’s side, the fastest performer was Matt Brownstead, who posted a 21.03 50 fly, 21.45 50 back, 24.82 50 breast, and 19.43 50 free. He had the fastest fly and back times of the group, but Jack Aikins clocked the fastest 50 free at 19.41 and Noah Nichols clocked the fastest 50 breast at 23.94.

Notably, Connor Boyle was competing here, and he finished last with a combined time of 1:33.75. So far in 2023, Boyle has not raced in any formal competition (including ACCs) due to an injury.

Full Women’s Results

Full Men’s Results