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Gretchen Walsh Makes History in 50 Free on Day Two of ACC Championships

Gretchen Walsh broke the American record in the 50 free twice and became the first woman to swim a sub-20 seconds split in the 200 free relay

Matt Newton

Gretchen Walsh Makes History in 50 Free on Day Two of ACC Championships
Gretchen Walsh Makes History in 50 Free on Day Two of ACC Championships /

Whether it was the prelims or the finals, an individual swim or her leg of a relay, Gretchen Walsh was dialed in for the 50-yard freestyle on Wednesday at the ACC Swimming & Diving Championships. Walsh broke the American, US Open, and NCAA records for the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 20.77 in the morning prelims, then broke that record again in the finals of the event that night with a 20.57 swim to win the title. But that arguably wasn't even the most remarkable accomplishment of the night for Walsh at that distance, as she swam the second-leg of Virginia's 200-yard freestyle relay and became the first woman to ever break 20 seconds with a split of 19.95 seconds.Β 

Watch the video below to see Walsh breaking her own American record in the 50 free:

And here she is becoming the first woman to ever go sub-20 seconds:

Spearheaded by Gretchen Walsh's historic night, the Cavalier women swept all four swimming events on day two at the 2024 ACC Swimming & Diving Championships at the Greensboro Aquatic Center and surged into the lead in the team standings with 552 points.Β 

Gretchen Walsh won two ACC titles on Wednesday night, including the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard freestyle relay, where she teamed up with Jasmine Nocentini, Alex Walsh, and Maxine Parker to set an NCAA, American, and US Open record with a time of 1:23.63 to claim the title. Nocentini also took silver behind Walsh in the 50 free.Β 

Virginia went 1-2 in the 200-yard individual medley with Alex Walsh winning gold in 1:51.76 and Ella Nelson finishing as the runner-up at 1:54.21.Β 

Virginia's fourth title of the night came thanks to freshman Cavan Gormsen, who won gold in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:38.43. The Cavaliers swept the podium in the event with Aimee Canny taking second and Sophia Knapp finishing third.Β 

The UVA men posted three podium finishes, including a bronze medal for Virginia's team of Matt Brownstead, Connor Boyle, Simon Lins, and August Lamb in the 200 free relay, to move up to sixth place in the standings with 249.5 points.Β 

Here are the women's and men's standings through two days at the 2024 ACC Championships:

Women’s Standings (through 8 events)
1. Virginia, 552
2. Louisville, 473.5
3. NC State, 418
4. Duke, 332
5. North Carolina, 328
6. Notre Dame, 274
7. Virginia Tech, 253.5
8. Florida State, 217
9. Pitt, 183
10. Georgia Tech, 177
11. Miami, 162

Men’s Standings (through 7 events)
1. NC State, 531.5
2. Notre Dame, 335.5
3. Louisville, 302
4. Virginia Tech, 298.5
5. Florida State, 292
6. Virginia, 249.5
7. Georgia Tech, 235
8. North Carolina, 223
9. Pitt, 193
10. Duke, 130
11. Miami, 54

Thursday's events includes the finals for the 400 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Free, and Men's 3-Meter. Prelims start at 9:30am and the finals begin at 5:30pm.Β 

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.

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