Gretchen Walsh, a Team USA swimmer, won her very first Olympic medals at the 2024 Olympics. There, the 21-year old set a world record of 55.38 in the 100m butterfly semifinals in addition to her world record of mixed 4×100 medley relay (3:37.43) and 4×100 medley relay (3:49.63).
Here’s everything you need to know about Gretchen Walsh.
Career Highlights
In just high school, she was already making a name for herself as she broke existing records, set new ones and won several state championships. At thirteen in 2016, Gretchen was the youngest swimmer to compete at the Olympics trials even though she was placed 125th overall. She later went on to become the youngest female American swimmer to swim the 50 yard freestyle race in less than 22.00 seconds with a time of 21.85 in 2018.
Despite a very impressive swimming year, Gretchen narrowly missed being a participant in the 2020 Olympics. She became more dedicated and broke more records.
In 2022, she became the fastest female freshman in University of Virginia to swim the 50 yard freestyle in the NCAA, with a time of 20.95 seconds. At the 2024 NCAA Championships, Gretchen bagged gold medals in all her seven events.
Life Outside Swimming
Gretchen’s sister, Alex, is also a swimmer, and together they are known as ‘The Swimming Sisters.’ They run a business together called Sporti x Alex + Gretchen Walsh. In her free time, Gretchen likes to draw and watch Game of Thrones.
Next: Everything You Need to Know About Olympic Silver Medalist Simone Manuel
