The University of Virginia’s global and national impact on women’s swimming seems to grow all the time.
On Sunday, while competing at the Sette Colli Trophy, a three-day international meet in Rome, Wahoo alumnus Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the 50-meter freestyle event, besting the time of Kate Douglass, Walsh’s former UVA teammate, from eight days earlier.
Walsh’s time of 23.55 seconds is also an American record, marking the 100th American record a UVA swimmer has set in the last five years.
UVA swimmers currently hold 17 world records. The six-time defending NCAA champion program maintains an elite reputation.
Walsh and Douglass – a combined nine Olympic medals between them – are among the decorated UVA alumni who still train in Charlottesville under coach Todd DeSorbo and the current Wahoo team.
“I think it’s the training group we have out there,” Walsh said Sunday. “Not only are we putting the best swimmers in the world in the water together, but we’re putting the most fun-loving group of swimmers in the water. We work really hard, push each other every day, and have a lot of fun doing it.
“The sport is really hard and can be very challenging, and I think that they keep me sane and they keep me happy. And that’s all it takes at this level.”
Walsh has now broken a world record 21 times in her career, all coming since the U.S. Olympic Trials in June 2024.
TWO CAVS. EIGHT DAYS APART. 🤯
Gretchen Walsh sets a WORLD RECORD in the 50m freestyle just days after training partner Kate Douglass broke the same record. 👏 pic.twitter.com/zJlIIJVRO0— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 28, 2026
UVA’s recent run on American records began at the 2021 Atlantic Coast Conference championship meet with the 200-meter medley relay team of Douglass, Caroline Gmelich, Alexis Wenger and Lexi Cuomo.
