Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics
UVA's Douglass, Walsh, and Parker Qualify for 2023 World Championships
Three Virginia swimmers qualified for the 2023 FINA World Aquatic Championships on the opening night of the US Phillips 66 National Championships on Tuesday at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, headlined by recent UVA graduate Kate Douglass, who won the 100-meter freestyle.
The three-time defending national champions were well-represented in the A final of the women's 100 free, as Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, and Maxine Parker placed first, third, and sixth, respectively.
Douglass' time of 52.57 is the second-fastest time ever by an American woman in the event (trailing only Simone Manuel), the fourth-fastest time in the world this season, and the ninth-fastest in the world all-time. Walsh broke her personal record (set back when she was 16 years old) with a time of 53.11 in the finals to notch third and Parker set a personal best as well with a time of 53.51 to finish sixth.
Kate Douglass has automatically qualified for a spot on Team USA for the 2023 World Aquatic Championships, which will be held from July 14-30 in Fukuoka, Japan. Gretchen Walsh and Maxine Parker are in good position to qualify for USA's relay team as well, which would be the first appearance for both swimmers on USA's senior worlds team.
Virginia was represented with 14 swimmers on the opening day of competition at the National Championships and six of those swimmers advanced to the finals on Tuesday night. Notably, UVA alum Leah Smith notched a fourth-place finish in the women's 800-meter freestyle, which was won by Katie Ledecky.
More Cavaliers will compete on the second day of competition, which will feature the 200 freestyle, 200 breaststroke, 200 backstroke, and 50 butterfly. The 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships run from June 27-July 1, with the prelims taking place every day at 10am and the finals beginning at 7pm.
The events will be streamed on USASwimming.org and Peacock.
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