Double threat as the Walsh sisters dominate collegiate swimming

• Gretchen and Alex Walsh are American professional swimmers who happen to be sisters
• The two sisters were recently named as two of the four finalists for the class of 2024 Honda Sport Award for Swimming and Diving
• The two have dominated collegiate swimming

The Walsh sisters, Alex and Gretchen are American professional swimmers who are dominating collegiate swimming and they were recently named as two of the four finalists for the class of 2024 Honda Sport Award for Swimming and Diving.

Alex is Gretchen’s elder sister and she set a national age group record when she was only twelve years old in her high school years, she led her team to multiple state and national victories.

Her younger sister competes for the University of Virginia Women’s and Diving team and she recently qualified for the 2024 World Championships with a third-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle event.

In 2018, Gretchen became the youngest female to break a 15-16 record, 22 seconds in the 50 free. Their mother was a former collegiate swimmer and a captain of the Boston College women’s swim, who has been a strong supporter of her daughters swimming career.

Alexandra Walsh biography and college swimming

Alexandra Walsh is a 23-year-old American female swimmer who competes for the University of Virginia’s Women’s Swimming and Diving team and also represents the United States in International competitions.

Alexandra Walsh. Photo/Sports Illustrated

Her career began quite early as at 12, she was already on a national age group record, joined high school and led her team to multiple state and national championships before joining the University of Virginia.

Alex joined the University of Virginia in 2020 and established herself as a dominant force and achieved several honors. She is a three-time NCAA champion for three consecutive years and has also earned several accolades as an individual.

Among the individual accolades, she won the 2022 ACC Championships in the 200-yard individual medley, 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke. In the same year, she won the 2022 Division 1 Championships in the 200-yard individual medley, 400-yard individual medley and 200-yard butterfly.

Apart from collegiate swimming, she also competes for the United States and in 2019, she competed in the Pan American Games where she secured three gold medals. In the following year, she qualified for the Tokyo Olympic and managed a silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley.

In 2022, she competed at the World Championships and won three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal. In the following year, she secured a silver medal.

Gretchen Walsh biography and college swimming

Gretchen Walsh is a 21-year-old American female swimmer who competes for the University of Virginia’s Women’s Swimming and Diving team with her elder sister Alexandra Walsh who also competes for the team.

She recently qualified for the 2024 World Championships and this could be a pathway to compete for Team USA At the international level. Her career began at the Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee.

During her high school year, she set national high school records in the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle , plus other multiple state championship titles. Following her sister’s path, she joined the University of Virginia’s Women’s swimming and Diving program.

On joining the program, the 21-year-old became the fastest freshman in the institution to swim the 50-yard freestyle in 20.95 seconds, and also secured her first NCAA individual title in the 100-yard freestyle at 46.05 seconds.

Gretchen Walsh. Photo/Sports Illustrated

She recently qualified for the 2024 World Championships with a third-place finish in the 100-meter freestyle event. She is pursuing a degree at the University of Virginia’s Mclntire School of Commerce.

Alex and Gretchen finalists for the class Honda Sport Award

The two sisters were recently named as finalists for the class of 2024 Honda Sport Award for Swimming and Diving, which is a Collegiate Women Awards that is presented annually to the top female students-athletes in 12 NCAA sanctioned sports.

The award recognizes the winner for their outstanding athletic achievements throughout the year and the two being named finalists is an achievement for their talent in swimming