Gretchen Walsh emerged from the Lucas Oil Stadium pool, a world-record holder in the 100m fly and her ticket to Paris. After winning the finals, she immediately embraced two people, one was her sister and athlete Alex Walsh. The second was the man who had put her on the path to Paris, coach Todd DeSorbo. It would be an understatement to say that Walsh has shined under DeSorbo.

Todd DeSorbo took responsibility as the head coach of the University of Virginia swimming team in 2017. Since then he has coached the men’s and women’s the Virginia Cavaliers. In recent years, 21-year-old swimming phenom Gretchen Walsh has emerged as his star pupil. However, she is far from the only one. So what makes the 47-year-old such a successful coach?

All about swimming star Gretchen Walsh’s coach

Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1977, Todd DeSorbo took to swimming when he was just a kid. By the time the 47-year-old was 10, he was already swimming competitively. Seemly born to love swimming, the UVA swimming head coach competed through his high school years at Salisbury High School. During this early phase, DeSorbo broke a national age group record in the 200m relay.

However, Todd DeSorbo came into his own during his college years. In 1999, the then-competitive swimmer earned the CAA Championships Swimmer of the Meet. The swimmer then set two school records for the University of Kentucky under his coach, Gary Conelly. DeSorbo also made the All-ECAC team in ’99. However, instead of pursuing greater heights as a swimmer, he pursued coaching.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with two accounting degrees, he started coaching full time. Today the father of Jack and Cate DeSorbo has amassed nearly two decades of coaching experience, training talents such as Gretchen Walsh and her sister Alex Walsh. However, the 2024 Olympic Women’s Team head coach started small.

DeSorbo served as the head coach for the Cape Fear Aquatic Club from 2005 to 2007, before heading back to NC Wilmington and finally joining NC State. However, it wasn’t until he joined in 2017 that he joined a UVA. The 47-year-old had coached the Cavaliers for three years when Gretchen Walsh joined in 2020. In these four years, he helped the 21 become one of the best in the world at Butterfly.

In May 2024, The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), announced that he would be named Coach of the Year. Honored to receive the award, DeSorbo revealed what drives him to continuously improve 20 years into his coaching career. “It’s hard, personally, to consider myself of the same level as many of the great coaches that have been on U.S. Olympic Team and U.S. National Team staffs. There are so many great coaches and I’m happy to be among them, but more importantly, helping young athletes develop in life,” said the humble DeSorbo.

The many achievements of Todd DeSorbo

DeSorbo established himself as a miracle worker early in his career. At NC State, he helped Simonas Bilis become a decorated All-American. In 2016, the father of two became a first-time Olympian, when three athletes who trained under him competed in Rio. Among them, Ryan Held gave the coach his first gold medals after he won the 4x100m gold alongside Caleb Dressel, Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian.

However, it was as UVA’s head coach that DeSorbo truly reached the pinnacle as a coach. Under his tutelage, the Virginia Cavaliers Women’s team has won every Women’s ACC Championships from 2018 to 2024, consecutively. Since 2021 Todd DeSorbo has led the Gretchen Walsh and the UVA women to four consecutive NCAA titles.

In the 2024 season, the DeSorbo UVA Women’s team won 11 events at the NCAA championships. The world record holder Gretchen Walsh led the pack with seven gold medals. Thanks to his immense success and winning coach of the year twice in three years, the 47-year-old will lead the US Women’s team in Paris. However, only time will tell if one of the most successful coaches in swimming can continue his dominance at the grandest stage.