Alex and Gretchen Walsh: The sensational swimming sisters ready to star at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships
Across the seven collective years that University of Virginia superstar swimmers Gretchen and Alex Walsh have competed in the NCAA, the pair have left an indelible mark, racking up 24 NCAA Championship titles, 24-All American honors and 14 NCAA records.
Their accolades extend beyond the collegiate realm, as the two have competed on the U.S. National Team and boast an impressive seven world titles between the long and short course championships, as well as a Tokyo 2020 silver medal.
At just 22 years old and the older of the sisters, UVA senior Alex led the charge for the pair, with 21-year-old Gretchen soon showing herself to be a formidable talent in her own right.
For both of the swimmers, their collegiate success began right off the bat, as Alex was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Women’s Rookie of the Year and Gretchen set NCAA, meet, American, US Open and pool records the following year at her first NCAA Championships.
As the two gear up for their third and fourth championships, the Walsh sisters stand as a force to be reckoned with, and the names to beat.
The NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships kick off on 20 March at the University of Georgia, with the U.S. Olympic Trials less than three months later, starting on 15 June.
Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass of Team United States pose with their silver and bronze medals during the medal ceremony for the Women's 200m Individual Medley Final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The Walsh sisters’ long list of Team USA and NCAA accolades
Last year, the Walsh Sisters took 11 NCAA titles and came in at second and tied third on the individual points chart, only behind 11-time world champion and teammate Kate Douglass.
Along with Douglass, they were the main contributors to UVA’s third consecutive NCAA Championship win - the most prestigious title in collegiate sports.
This came just months before the two represented the United States at the World Championships together for the first time where they took a collective four medals, including Gretchen’s gold in the 4x100m medley relay.
The younger sister’s success came after failing to make the World Championships team for multiple years prior, but she told Team USA in an interview that she was going into the U.S. national championships “on a high” after her NCAA success.
At this year’s Championships, Gretchen will look to add to her 11 NCAA titles and, as a third year, she already has 14 All-American honors.
After her success at the 2023 Championships, Gretchen gave an insight into how she will remember these victories in later years, telling SwimSwam: “When I’m older I know I’ll look back and be like dang, we really did that,” before bursting into laughter alongside her sister.
Alex will go into her fourth and possibly final championships with a highly impressive 13 NCAA titles and 20 All-American honors. She also took silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in the 200m individual medley.
The Walsh legacy: beyond the pool
When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of collegiate athletes being able to profit off of their name, image and likeness (NIL), the sisters took full advantage of the new opportunities that presented themselves.
They used their 73,000 collective Instagram followers to promote themselves and their brand, and became the first collegiate athletes in history to create a co-branded swimsuit collection with a nationally recognized brand.
Together with the brand - the largest online swimwear retailer in the United States - they launched their personal collection and the merchandise went flying off the online shelves and into the drawers of swimmers across the United States.
The collections were fun and colorful, and inspired by their individual personalities.
“We have very different personalities, so it was special to be able to have our own suits and then also suits that we worked on together. I think that is very really representative of our relationship and our dynamic,” they told Sports Illustrated in an interview.
The University of Virginia and Team USA stars now doubling as swimsuit designers might be nearing the end of their collegiate careers, but they show no signs of slowing down. With Paris 2024 just months away, it’s not unlikely that the two could be looking at more Olympic medals to add to their already stacked NCAA and World Championship trophy case.