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Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh Win Gold on Final Night of World Championships

Douglass and Walsh won gold as part of Team USA's 4x100 medley relay team to close out the 2023 World Aquatics Championships

Matt Newton

Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh Win Gold on Final Night of World Championships
Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh Win Gold on Final Night of World Championships /

Virginia swimmers Kate Douglass and Gretchen Walsh closed the 2023 World Aquatics Championships with a bang on Sunday, helping Team USA win gold in the 4x100-meter medley relay. Walsh swam the butterfly leg of the medley relay and turned in a 57.06 split before handing off to Cavalier teammate Kate Douglass, who anchored a USA relay for the fourth time during this meet. Douglass swam a 52.41 anchor leg to clock the Americans in at 3:52.08, edging Australia (3:53.37) by more than a second to win the title. 

For Gretchen Walsh, who was swimming in her first senior-level international meet, this was her first gold medal and third medal of the week, as she also earned silver in the 4x100 freestyle relay and bronze in the 50 butterfly, her first individual medal. 

Kate Douglass, meanwhile, capped an outstanding week by earning her sixth medal of the meet and second gold. Her six medals were tied for the most among female swimmers at the World Championships. Douglass earned gold in the 400 medley relay and 200 individual medley, silver in the 200 breast, 400 freestyle relay, and mixed 400 freestyle relay, and bronze in the mixed 400 medley relay, a remarkable display of versatility by the legendary UVA swimmer. 

Alex Walsh also swam on Sunday and just barely missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter individual medley. That would have been the second medal of the week for Walsh, who won silver in the 200-meter individual medley. 

Swimmers from the 2022-2023 Virginia women's swim & dive team earned a total of 11 medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships. 

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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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