Highlight Hoos: Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass | UVA Swimming

Recapping the phenomenal year Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass had in the pool representing UVA and Team USA

Author:
Kathleen Boyce
Publish date:
Jul 9, 2022 7:51 PM EDT

Alex Walsh (USA) and Kate Douglass (USA) pose with their medals during the medals ceremony for the women's 200m individual medley during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. — Courtesy of Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports

With the 2021-2022 Virginia athletics season officially completed, we enter the college sports offseason optimistic for things to come for the Cavaliers next season. But with the fall seasons still a couple of months away, we have time to take a look back at some of the incredible athletic accomplishments achieved by UVA student athletes during the 2021-2022 sports year in a series called Highlight Hoos.

So far, we've covered Diana Ordóñez (Virginia women's soccer), Mia Barnett (Virginia cross country and track & field), Leo Afonso (Virginia men's soccer), Brooklyn Borum (Virginia volleyball), and Amber Ezechiels (Virginia field hockey).

Today, we take a look at the last year of impressive accomplishments of the Virginia swimming dynamic duo of Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass, representing both UVA and Team USA.

Olympic Trials - June 2021

Traveling back to just over a year ago, this was a moment both Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh catapulted themselves to the national spotlight. As the reigning 2021 NCAA national champions, the two Wahoo swimmers set their sights on the Tokyo Olympics.

Both swimmers participated in the 200-meter individual medley at the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. After solid performances in the heats and semifinals on June 15th, Douglass and Walsh were in good positions for the final race, where the top two swimmers earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

The final event was a nail-biter to say the least. After the first 50 meters, Alex Walsh was in fourth place and Kate Douglass was in second. Walsh used a strong backstroke and breaststroke leg to take the lead at 150 meters, while Douglass had fallen to third place. In the final 50 meters, Douglass used a strong freestyle to catch up. Walsh finished first with a time of 2:09.30, and Douglass finished two hundredths of a second behind her for second place. She edged out Madisyn Cox by two hundredths of a second as well, showing how an infinitesimal margin can mean the difference between joy and heartbreak in swimming. Walsh and Douglass were in, Cox was out.

While both Douglass and Walsh qualified for the Olympic Trials in other events, they were not in the top two finishers of those races, which meant their one shot at an Olympic medal in Tokyo would be in the 200 IM.

Tokyo Olympics - July 2021

Douglass and Walsh had become Olympians for the first time, but their work wasn’t done yet. The 200 IM race had a similar structure with heats, semifinals, and then the final race with the top eight swimmers. Kate Douglass was seeded first heading into the finals, and Alex Walsh was seeded third.

The 200 IM once again proved to be a thriller, with swimmers changing places throughout the race and no clear winner until they touched the wall. Walsh and Douglass stuck with the pack in the first 50 meters, and then Alex Walsh made her move during the backstroke and breaststroke, as she did in the trials. In the freestyle lap, four swimmers were neck and neck for the three medals. Walsh and Japan’s Yui Ohashi battled it out in lanes three and two, respectively, with Ohashi taking the victory by .13 seconds and Walsh taking second. Kate Douglass used a strong finish to beat Great Britain’s Abbie Wood by .09, securing the bronze medal. The UVA teammates embraced in the pool after securing the silver and bronze medals and cementing their names in USA Swimming history.

NCAA regular season - November 2021 - January 2022

Back at the collegiate level, both swimmers showed why they were Olympians. With matching Olympic rings tattoos, Douglass and Walsh dominated the regular season. In the six meets Douglass and Walsh swam in, Walsh won or was part of 18 winning events, and Douglass won or was part of 20 winning events. While a few of these races are counted twice as Douglass and Walsh dominated in relays, a lot of these were individual victories which helped propel the women’s swim team to a dominant regular season.

15th FINA Short Course World Championships - December 2021

Kate Douglass attended the 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi and had a successful performance with two gold medals, two silver medals, and a bronze medal. She took home gold in the 200-meter freestyle relay and 400-meter freestyle relay. After swimming in the heats, she also earned silver medals in the women’s 200-meter medley relay and the mixed 200-meter medley relay. Finally, Douglass won bronze in the 200-meter individual medley.

ACC Championships - February 2022

Virginia won its third-straight ACC Championship in February and its two biggest stars shined bright at the start of the postseason.

Alex Walsh won three individual events: the 200-yard individual medley, the 200-yard freestyle, and the 200-yard breaststroke. She set UVA and ACC records with the 200 breast as well as a UVA record on the 200 free. Walsh also was part of the winning 400 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay, and 800 freestyle relay. Virginia’s 400-yard medley relay team broke an NCAA, US Open (fastest time in the U.S), and American (fastest time by an American) record. All of these accomplishments led to Walsh being named the ACC Women’s Most Valuable Swimmer in the meet.

Kate Douglass earned Women’s Swimmer of the Year honors in the ACC for her performance during the regular season, but she also excelled at the ACC championships. She won individual titles in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, and 100 butterfly and also won four relays. She was part of the record-breaking 400 medley relay with Walsh, and she also contributed to the NCAA, US, Open, and American record time in the 200 medley relay and 200 free relay. Finally, Douglass also was victorious in the 400 free relay.

Women’s NCAA Championships - March 2022

Walsh and Douglass were the driving force behind Virginia’s second consecutive national championship. They both won three individual events and joined forces to win three relays, and then Douglass earned a relay win in the 200 medley relay and Walsh came in second in the 800 free relay.

In the 400 medley relay and the 400 free relay that included both Douglass and Walsh, Virginia set NCAA, US Open, and American records. The 400 medley relay record actually tied the record from the ACC Championships, made by the exact same group. They also won the 200 free relay together.

Douglass set NCAA, US Open, and American records in both the 50 freestyle and 200 breaststroke at the national championships, and she set an American record in the 100 fly. In the seven total events she participated in, she won all seven and broke a record in five of them. Even more impressively, she set American records in three events that were each different strokes and different distances, a feat never before accomplished at the NCAA Championships.

Walsh took home the individual title for the 200 IM, the 400 IM, and the 200 fly in her accomplished meet, including an NCAA, US Open, and American record in the 200 IM. She won six out of the seven events she participated in.

Honda Sport Award - April 2022

The Honda Sport Award is given to the top female athlete in 12 different sports, and then the winner is eligible to win the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year award. Both Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh were named among the four finalists for the award, along with Katharine Berkoff and Tarrin Gilliland. Douglass ended up winning the award, giving her the title of the best female collegiate swimmer.

U.S. International Team Trials - April 2022

The Phillips 66 International Team Trials took place at the end of April in Greensboro, North Carolina, and was the selection meet for the 2022 FINA World Championships. Alex Walsh competed in three events and Kate Douglass competed in four, after choosing to skip two events she could have swam due to meet scheduling.

Alex Walsh set a US Open record with a time of 2:07.84 in the 200 IM and won gold, guaranteeing her a spot on the FINA World Championship team. She also came in fifth in the 100 breaststroke and sixth in the 200 freestyle.

Kate Douglass placed second in the 200 breaststroke to earn her roster spot, and also finished fourth in the 100 butterfly and fifth in the 50 freestyle, showing how versatile of a swimmer she can be yet again.

19th FINA World Championships - June 2022

A few weeks ago, Douglass and Walsh finished competing for Team USA in Budapest, Hungary for the FINA World Championships, the biggest swim meet in non-Olympic years.

Douglass earned a bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke, finishing behind USA teammate Lilly King and Australia's Jenna Strauch. She also added a bronze medal in the 400 freestyle relay along with teammates Torri Huske, Erika Brown, and Claire Curzan. She swam in the heats of the 400 mixed freestyle relay which ultimately won a bronze medal, so she can add that to her medal haul as well.

Walsh set a personal best in her signature race of the 200 IM with a time of 2:07.13, and took home the gold medal at the World Championships. She also swam in the heats for the 800 freestyle relay and the 400 medley relay which both ended up winning gold, so Walsh walked away with three gold medals from the meet.

Current U.S. Records - Alex Walsh

Long course (25 m)

US Open 200 IM (2:07.84) at 2022 US International Team Trials

Short course (25 yd)

American and US Open 200 IM (1:50.08) at 2022 NCAA Championships
American and US Open 200 freestyle relay (1:24.47) at 2022 ACC Championships
American and US Open 400 freestyle relay (3:06.91) at 2022 NCAA Championships
American and US Open 400 medley relay (3:22.34) at 2022 ACC Championships and 2022 NCAA Championships

Current U.S Records - Kate Douglass