On a night when Gretchen Walsh won a major award to commemorate her recent past, the superstar University of Virginia swimmer was away, working toward her next feat.
Walsh virtually accepted her honor Monday as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the recipient of the Honda Cup. The 2025 graduate of the University was unable to join her fellow finalists – a collection of top female athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports – in New York for the ceremony because she was home in Charlottesville, training for the upcoming World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
“I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now, honestly,” Walsh said during CBS Sports Network’s live broadcast of the event. “Being nominated for this award last year was a big deal to me. To win it this year is obviously unreal.
“I wish I could be there to celebrate. It’s interesting, this sport, it’s all year-round. It never stops. But to have these moments of knowing that all the hard work and the never-ending training is coming to fruition, it’s worth it. So, it’s really nice to have this recognition.”
Walsh, a two-time National Swimmer of the Year and a driving force behind UVA’s five straight NCAA championships, is the second Wahoo to win the Honda Cup in its 49-year history, joining basketball legend Dawn Staley, who was honored in 1991.
One of the most decorated swimmers in collegiate history, Walsh won seven gold medals at the NCAA championship meet in March, bringing her career total to 25. She’s set 17 world records, 38 American records and, last summer in Paris, won four Olympic medals, including a pair of golds.
She’s the ninth swimmer to win the Honda Cup and first since Stanford University’s Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel went back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
“I feel like this is a win for swimming as well, as much as it is for myself,” Walsh said. “I feel like I always take a lot of pride in representing the people who have come before me in the sport, especially women who have, so to be among that list of names is so cool.”
In addition to her athletic honors, Walsh has been a star student. The McIntire School of Commerce graduate is a three-time Academic All-American and has twice been named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Walsh is among the ESPY Awards’ four nominees for “Best College Athlete – Women’s Sports.” Fans can vote for their preferred candidate until 5 p.m., July 16, the day of the show.
