Though he claims he shouldn’t be confused with Nostradamus, University of Virginia swimming coach Todd DeSorbo nailed it when it came to predicting Gretchen Walsh’s college career.
“During my recruiting process, when I was in high school,” Walsh said, “Todd was telling me a lot of things. ‘I’m going to break the national record in this. I’m going to break the American record in that.’ It was kind of hard to believe all of his really high aspirations.
“But I feel like over the course of my career at UVA, all of that has come true.”
Earlier this week, Walsh posed on a 5-foot platform in the shallow end of the pool at the Aquatic & Fitness Center. Around her neck hung four Olympic medals. A total of four NCAA team championship trophies were aligned in front of her. She’s graduating from the University this weekend, but her legacy will endure.
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Walsh, said longtime swimming broadcaster Rowdy Gaines, has “an opportunity to transcend the sport.”
Gaines is the iconic voice associated with NBC’s coverage of the Olympics, where he’s been on the call for nine Summer Games. The three-time Olympic gold medalist has also covered NCAA championship meets for more than three decades.
He’s witnessed firsthand the brilliance of Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky, among other swimming superstars. And since 2022, Gaines has been privy to the excellence of Walsh.
At 22, she’s already won four Olympic medals and has set 17 world records, in addition to numerous American, NCAA and ACC records. The 25-time NCAA champion is synonymous with UVA’s swimming dynasty as she helped the Cavaliers win four consecutive team national titles. At her final NCAA championship meet in March, Walsh claimed seven gold medals.
“In my opinion,” Gaines said, “she’s had the greatest two years in history. And certainly, the greatest single NCAA championship (meet) in history. You could argue about some others, but just based on the domination in the types of events she swam, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Even with one day left, it is safe to say that Gretchen Walsh has had the greatest major international competition in history outside MP in 08 and Spitz in 72. Simply amazing. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/o42YPwsfhW
— Rowdy Gaines (@RowdyGaines) December 14, 2024
Walsh, also an Academic All-American, will receive her degree from the McIntire School of Commerce on Sunday. She’s been an active businesswoman throughout college in conjunction with various sponsorship deals, particularly the Sporti swimsuit lines she shares with her sister, Alex, a fellow Wahoo swimming star, and plans to increase her presence in this space as she transitions to professional swimming.
“So that’s definitely where the business side of my life is going to keep up,” Walsh said, “and that just requires a lot of social media appearances and then obviously performing well in the pool.”
