Despite Breaking American and NCAA Records, Gretchen Walsh Left Feeling “Kinda Upset” at Not Completing Personal Goals

Virginia Junior Gretchen Walsh has lately become the talk of the moment in the NCAA swimming realm. Last month, at the ACC Championships, Walsh marked her legacy as the first woman to swim a sub-20-second 50 freestyle relay split in history. Lately, during the 2024 NCAA season Swimming and Diving Championships, Walsh made history by notching three individual NCAA titles. But her feelings are not aligned with that.

Despite breaking American and NCAA Records, Gretchen Walsh expressed her displeasure as she aimed to do something bigger. There are some personal goals that she failed to achieve.

After her astounding 47.42 in the 100 Butterfly victory at the NCAA Championships, University of Virginia Junior Gretchen Walsh reflected on her expectations in an interview. Walsh confessed that she had fallen short of her own goals. Heading into the finals session, she wanted to make history by being the first female to break 48 seconds in both the 100 fly and the 100 back. She stated, “The goal was to go 47 in the 100 fly and 47 in the 100 back, so I’m kinda of upset that I didn’t do that.”

Apart from showcasing her disconcerting feeling, she also squeezed out her contentment for her record-setting time in the 100 back. “But it’s okay because I’m still like really pleased with my time in the 100 back…I’m just literally not disappointed at all. I think it was just more of doing the 100 flys like spicing it up a little bit for myself and my lineup, but also more practice of butterfly going into travels where I won’t be focusing on the 100 fly over the backstroke,” she added further. Notably, Walsh went on a flurry of records on every night of the event.

Gretchen Walsh makes a splash in the NCAA championships

On the first day of the NCAA Championship, Walsh gave Virginia the early advantage with the quickest 50 backstroke split in history. She broke Maggie MacNeil’s record of 22.52 with a margin of 0.42 seconds, as she finished the race in just 22.10 seconds, achieving the 50-yard freestyle mark on Thursday.

Read More: Gretchen Walsh Might Destroy Sarah Sjöström’s Dynasty at Paris Olympics After NCAA Destruction

On day 2, Gretchen Walsh left the swimming enthusiasts in awe with her 50m free run. She literally slashed every previous record in the event with her time of 20.37. She received the victory with a margin of .72 seconds, defeating Katharine Berkoff with this record-breaking gap.

On the third day, once again Walsh broke all the previous records in the 100m fly. Her time here stood at 47.42. This comes in continuation of her dazzling run in the ACC championships last month. Gretchen Walsh also dazzled at the ACC Championships last month when she broke Simone Manuel’s seven-year-old American and NCAA record in the 100 freestyle.

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