From watching Tokyo 2020 from afar to winning gold “in honour” of heartbroken sister, Gretchen Walsh turns the tables at Paris 2024
Gretchen Walsh still remembers the heartbreak she felt watching the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 from her home in Nashville, USA. A local television crew was covering the competition in depth, making the then 18-year-old swimmer yearn for the experience even more.
What made this more agonising still, her older sister Alex Walsh was competing. Alex took a silver medal from Tokyo, beaming on the podium, but due to Covid-19 restrictions Gretchen could not be there to celebrate with her.
These emotions were flipped in three years’ time when the older sister was left heartbroken after getting her third place finish at Paris 2024 reversed due to a disqualification, while the younger one celebrated winning four medals in her Olympic debut, including two relay gold.
Gretchen won one of these gold medals in world record time on the same night as her sister’s disqualification and dedicated it to her.
"I'm on cloud nine," Gretchen Walsh told Olympics.com of her hefty Paris 2024 medal haul. "To come away with four medals, two world records at my first-ever Olympics, I feel like that's things people dream of, so I'm really proud."
Facing multiple "ups and downs" in her six races at Paris La Defense Arena, Walsh managed to keep her emotions in check and deliver on the world’s biggest stage. Olympics.com spoke to the USA swimmer to re-live the rollercoaster experience and get a sneak peek at her future goals.
Gretchen Walsh's busy Olympic debut to remember
Alex Walsh may have beat her younger sister to making an Olympic debut, but when it came down to Paris 2024, both swimmers felt like they were experiencing the Olympic stage for the first time.
"I didn't really know what to expect going in. I feel like I tried to learn a little bit from my sister Alex, but Tokyo was so different and so getting to experience it together with her kind of felt like both of our own first Olympics in a way," Gretchen Walsh said. "The Village was great. Seeing all athletes from everywhere around the world, I had a really great experience there. It felt like home."
The Olympic Games are a competition like no other and Walsh felt that most acutely when standing on the starting blocks at Paris La Defense Arena. Her hands shook as she took in the energy of some 15,000 spectators who watched the swimmers about to jump into the Olympic pool.
"I definitely think I was feeling some pressure. It's so nerve-racking being out there," Walsh said. "The crowd is so loud. It gives me so much energy and motivation, for sure, but you feel like all eyes are on you because they are. And I go down to do my start and my hands are shaking and I think no words can really describe that kind of feeling."
What made the challenge even greater is that Walsh had to swim multiple races on some nights. This was the case on the first day of competition, when she raced in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay final less than an hour after getting out of the water following her 100m butterfly semi-final.
The freestyle relay earned her a silver and she went on to take an individual silver in the 100m butterfly the next night.
"It's been hard to manage the emotions, stay level-headed throughout, because you don't want to get too hyped up over one swim when you have three more," Walsh said of handling her busy schedule. "For me, it was just having a quick conversation with my coach. If I needed to get something off my chest, get it off my chest. If I was disappointed, if I was super excited – whatever it may be – and then get myself in the warm down pool, gear up for the next event.
"At the end of the day, it is a swim meet and I've done it before, so I remind myself of that. I try to do some positive self-talk and just get myself in the race mode beforehand."
Walsh to Walsh: Doing it for older sister
Gretchen Walsh had another busy competition day on 3 August, swimming in three races and also following her sister's only race at Paris 2024.
Having finished the women’s 50m freestyle semi-final less than half an hour prior, Gretchen was in the training pool again to get ready for her next race, the mixed 4x100m medley relay, when she heard that Alex took bronze in the women’s 200m individual medley.
The joy was short-lived, however, as Gretchen soon learned of her sister’s disqualification due to a flawed backstroke turn. The news brought the younger sibling to a halt in the middle of her warm-down.
Less than two years apart, the Walsh sisters share a close bond. Both started in the sport young, following their mother Glynis Walsh, a former collegiate swimmer. Gretchen initially wanted to take a different path in sports to avoid sibling rivalry, but that never became an issue as the sisters went on to specialise in different events: Alex focuses on the longer distances while Gretchen is a sprinter.
Their swimming talent eventually took the Walsh sisters to the University of Virginia where they swam under the guidance of Todd DeSorbo, also coach of the USA women's swim team.
Sisters and teammates, their paths only diverged during the 2021 US Olympic Swimming Trials where Alex qualified for her first Olympic Games, in the 200m IM, but Gretchen missed out on spots in her 50m and 100m freestyle races.
Gretchen watched her sister's race from afar, wishing she was in Tokyo to support her but also wishing she could race herself. That wish came true in June 2024 when both siblings qualified for Paris 2024. This time, Gretchen was the first to celebrate after setting a world record in the 100m butterfly on the second day of the US Olympic Trials. Alex made the team a few days later.
“We always tell each other that we are stronger together,” Alex Walsh told Sports Illustrated. “That's been a really big game-changer for me because I definitely draw a lot of my confidence from Gretchen. I would say just seeing her be poised and kind of manage this comeback that she's had after 2021, I gained a lot of confidence from that, and a lot of motivation.”
Minutes after getting the painful news about Alex’s disqualification in the 200m IM, Gretchen had to get her emotions in check as she walked out with Team USA for the mixed 4x100m medley relay. Swimming the butterfly leg, she boosted the team from second to first position and set up Torri Huske’s golden finish.
The time of 3:37.43 set a world record and earned USA their first Olympic medal in the event. Speaking to reporters after, Walsh recalled her sister’s heartbreak on the same night and said she swam for gold “in her honour”.
Gretchen Walsh's star-spangled motivation
The rollercoaster that was 3 August was not the only emotional day for Gretchen Walsh. The final night of competition, 4 August, also tested her ability to stay level-headed.
The swimmer missed out on a medal in the women's 50m freestyle by one-hundredth of a second, finishing fourth her last individual race at Paris 2024. Less than an hour later she was out on the blocks again to help USA women take gold in the 4x100m medley relay with a world record.
Rising up to the occasion in the relays is something that comes naturally to Walsh.
"Those are the ones I get really excited for," she said. "I'm the kind of person that loves just talking to people in the ready room. I love being social on the pool deck, so I'm all here for relays. I love participating in them. I feel like it really brings out the patriotism of Team USA and all the countries."
That patriotism is something Walsh has felt since she was a kid. She grew up watching USA swimmers win medals at previous Olympic Games, and at Paris 2024 she got to be part of that story.
USA were once again the most successful team in the pool at the Olympics – a status they have defended since Barcelona 1992. In 2024, USA Swimming came away from the French capital with 28 medals, including eight gold.
"It's so cool," Walsh said of competing for Team USA. "I can't even imagine what it would be like if we didn't dominate. I feel like I grew up watching swimming, just always knowing that America is this dominating force in the pool, and I always wanted to be a part of it. And here I am getting to represent my country at the highest level. It's really cool. It's a dream come true for me and we really bring the energy, we support one another. I feel like that's what really makes us great."
Standing on the podium after the final swim race of Paris 2024 with multi-Olympic medallist teammates on either side of her was a Games highlight for Walsh.
And what now that her first Olympic Games are over? Showing her ability to switch quickly to an upcoming event, Walsh is already dreaming of the next big quest – the home Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028.
"Being here, seeing the French crowd was insane," Walsh said. "I'm like, 'I want to be at home competing for Team USA at the LA 2028 Olympics'. Honestly, this is the first time admitting it to anyone, but I think I want to go for that. I have a long career in sight for me and I'm excited that it's getting started on such a high note."