Swimming & Diving: Douglass earns trip to Paris with victory in 100 Free

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Kate Douglass joined the roster for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team by winning the 100 Free Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Swimming in a loaded field, Douglass came on strong during the final 50 meters to touch the wall first at 52.56, bettering her own school-record time.

UVA rising senior Gretchen Walsh finished third in the event by also swimming a personal best time (53.13). It allowed her to qualify for her second event at the Paris Games as a member of Team USA’s 4×100 free relay squad. Walsh previously qualified for the Games in the 100 Fly.

Douglass was not done for the night. Approximately 90 minutes later she returned to the pool at Lucas Oil Stadium to post the top time in the 200 Breast semifinals (2:21.23). In the prelims, Douglass set the meet record with a time of 2:19.66, just .036 shy of her American record time.

Douglass will be joined by three other UVA competitors in that event’s finals. Alex Walsh finished third in the semifinals with a personal best time of 2:22.81. Ella Nelson also recorded a personal best with a swim of 2:23.84. Anna King was sixth at 2:27.60.

At the Tokyo Games in 2020, Douglass won the bronze medal in the 200 individual medley. She has won 21 medals at the World Championships, including nine golds. Currently a graduate student at UVA, she won 15 NCAA titles during her Cavalier career.

In the 200 Fly, Tess Howley reset the Cavalier school mark in both the morning prelims and the evening semifinals. She swam 2:09.10 in the prelims and bettered that with a time of 2:08.79 in the semifinals, where she advanced to the finals with a sixth-place performance.

Jack Aikins also rewrote the UVA record book, clocking a time of 1:55.95 in the semifinals of the 200 Back to place third and move onto the finals.

On Thursday, the Hoos will compete at 11 a.m. in the prelims for the women’s 200 back, men’s 50 free and men’s 200 individual medley. The 8 p.m. evening session will feature the finals in the women’s 200 fly,  men’s 200 back and women’s 200 breast and semifinal races in the men’s 50 free, women’s 200 back and men’s 200 individual medley. The U.S. Olympic trials run thru June 23 at Lucas Oil Stadium.