US Olympian Kate Douglass Honors Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh After Her Record-Breaking NCAA Performance

The sporting realm is defined by camaraderie. And a note of appreciation from fellow stars might be the biggest confidence boost an athlete can get. In one such heartwarming display of sportsmanship, US Olympian swimmer Kate Douglass recently extended her congratulations to Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh following her exceptional swimming performance at the NCAA championships. 

Douglass, an accomplished swimmer recently took to social media to laud Walsh’s outstanding achievements, acknowledging the dedication and talent that culminated in Walsh’s record-breaking feat. The ‘Superhuman’ performance given by the 21-year-old swimmer made Kate come forward to congratulate her for her achievements. 

Celebrating excellence: Kate Douglass’ tribute to Virginia swimmer

The USA Swim Dive recently shared the achievement of Walsh by posting on their Instagram, “NCAA & AMERICAN RECORD Gretchen Walsh breaks her own 50 Free record IN THE PRELIMS”. Left in awe, with her performance, Douglass reshared the post through an Instagram story with two emojis, “🥵🥵”.

Interestingly, Gretchen has her sister Alex in her seven collective years at the University of Virginia. Their combined efforts have yielded an astonishing tally of 24 NCAA Championship titles, complemented by an impressive haul of 24 All-American honors and 14 NCAA records. After breaking her own NCAA and American record with a time of 20.41 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle prelims in the morning, Walsh followed up with an even faster time of 20.37 seconds in the finals for the win. This epic performance led her to victory in the NCAA finals. Alongside, she also set a bunch of other records with the run. 

The record-making run of Gretchen Walsh 

Gretchen Walsh showcased her exceptional skills in the 50 freestyle, despite starting with the slowest time of 0.76 among all swimmers. Overcoming the initial setback, Walsh’s incredible strength propelled her to flip first at the 25-meter mark, achieving an impressive time of 9.99. This remarkable improvement from her previous performance at the ACCs, where she flipped in 10.05. But that was not all. 

Read More: Hours After Setting NCAA Record, Gretchen Walsh Shows Superhuman Skill Breaking Another

With the concluding performance at the NCAA Finals, Gretchen Walsh made her place in the top five performances in the NCAA event history. She now shares the 5th spot with Mac Neil. This event was the 21-year-old’s 4th time breaking the record in this season. She broke the record twice at the ACCs and with this event. Now she has done it two times at the NCAAs as well. These records seem to be a warm-up for the Paris Olympics for the dominant swimmer, and she is just raising the bar higher with every performance.

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