Women’s NCAA swimming championship medalists bound for US Olympic Trials
For the fourth consecutive year, the University of Virginia (UVA) came out on top to take the coveted NCAA title after three days of all-out racing on the highest collegiate stage in swimming.
From 20-23 March, the Gabrielsen Natatorium in Athens, Georgia bore witness to athletes breaking Championship, American and US Open records before crowning the 2024 Champions in an ultra-competitive year.
Beyond UVA’s roster, University of Florida freshman and Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medalist Bella Sims dominated the pool earning three national titles in her inaugural collegiate year.
Along with many of the women, Sims will now turn her attention to the US Olympic Team Trials, which will be held 15-23 June in Indianapolis, Indiana, where Sims has qualified to race in 11 events—more than any other woman.
Alex Walsh competes in the Women's 200m Individual Medley at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Women’s NCAA Swimming Championship highlights
The University of Virginia led the weekend's success, finishing in Athens with a total of seven individual titles and a win in four of the five relays.
Headlining those wins was junior Gretchen Walsh, who shattered the NCAA, American and US Open records in the 100-meter freestyle with a staggering 44.83. She now owns or has participated in eight NCAA records and, as just a third-year athlete, holds 18 NCAA titles. This weekend's results capped what was, arguably, one of the most successful NCAA seasons for her sport. Following NCAAs, she was named Swimmer of the Year by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
Although incredible, her performance wasn’t quite enough to surpass her older sister Alex Walsh, who wrapped up the Championships with three individual wins, for a total of 19 in her collegiate career.
University of Florida (UF) freshman Bella Sims kicked off her NCAA career with a bang. Her three gold medals and NCAA titles, seven All-American honors, and two broken person, pool and SEC records were just the headliners.
The 18-year-old, along with UF teammates Emma Wayant, Isabel Ivey and Micayla Cronk, took the Gator’s first national title in the 800m freestyle relay for the first time since 1989. It was also the program's best finish since 2010.
The University of Texas came in second between UVA and UF, with Emma Sticklen providing the team highlight by becoming the first female Longhorn to defend a national swimming title in over four decades.
NCAA medalists bound for the US Olympic Trials
Many of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Swimming Championships medalists will also compete at the US Olympic Trials to be held from 15–23 June at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Bella Sims, Tokyo 2020 4x200m freestyle relay silver medalist, has qualified for 11 events going into the Trials, more than any other woman competing. She will be looking to improve upon her silver medal in Paris as well as adding some individual hardware to her collection.
UVA’s Alex Walsh, the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist in the 200m individual medley, will swim seven races at the Trials in June, coming in second to Sims for current female NCAA swimmers. She is one of seven women who qualified for the trials in more than seven races, while there were 30 who qualified for five.
Walsh's younger sister Gretchen Walsh qualified for Trials in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle.
University of Texas’ Kelly Pash and Olivia Bray fall just behind Walsh and will be racing in six events at trials after the two took a collective six All-American honors in Georgia.
Anna Peplowski and Emma Weyant are the final NCAA medalists to land on SwimSwam’s list of swimmers who qualified in the most events. They will both step up to the blocks five times at the Lucas Oil Stadium in June.