Kate Douglass Medals Five Times, Virginia Swimmers Take Home Eight Medals at the FINA World Championships

Kate Douglass, Paige Madden, and Emma Weyant each earned medals for Team USA in Abu Dhabi this week

Matt Newton | Dec 21, 2021

Photo courtesy of Rob Schumacher/USA TODAY Sports

The Virginia women’s swimming & diving team was well-represented at the FINA Short Course World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Three Cavalier swimmers competed for Team USA and brought home a total of eight medals.

Kate Douglass, currently a junior at UVA, stole the show in Abu Dhabi, delivering several impressive performances and earning five medals this week.

On the first night of competition on Thursday, Douglass won gold as part of Team USA’s 4x100m freestyle relay team. On Friday, Douglass earned a silver medal with the 4x50 medley relay team.

Douglass won another silver medal on Saturday, swimming the butterfly leg in the preliminary heat to get Team USA’s 4x50m mixed medley relay team into the finals, where they finished second behind the Netherlands.

A fourth medal came on Monday as Douglass won bronze in the 200m individual medley with a time of 2:04.68, less four-tenths of a second off of first place.

Finally, Douglass completed her fantastic run in Abu Dhabi by anchoring Team USA’s 4x50m freestyle relay team. Douglass closed out the final race with a split of 23.42 to put the Americans just ahead of second-place Sweden by 0.32 seconds to win gold, her second gold medal of the FINA World Championships.

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 way to kick off the final night! 🥇💪

🏊‍♀️ @AbbeyWeitzeil
🏊‍♀️ Claire Curzan
🏊‍♀️ Katharine Berkoff
🏊‍♀️ Kate Douglass#FINAAbuDhabi2021 pic.twitter.com/SX41422Ml0
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) December 21, 2021

This year for Christmas - another GOLD 🥇 for Kate Douglass at the #FINAAbuDhabi2021 #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/JHdYH5atmF
— Virginia Swimming and Dive (@UVASwimDive) December 21, 2021

Douglass’ final medal tally is two gold medals, two silver medals, and a bronze medal. Douglass also won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in August in the 200m individual medley.

Paige Madden, who graduated from UVA in May after winning the program’s first-ever national championship, took home two medals in Abu Dhabi. Madden won bronze in the 200m freestyle on Thursday and then won silver as part of Team USA’s 4x200m freestyle relay team on Monday.

Emma Weyant, currently a freshman at Virginia, was also on the 4x200m freestyle relay team and won a silver medal.

That makes eight total medals for this very accomplished trio of Cavaliers, who will now return to Charlottesville to help the Virginia women’s swimming & diving team defend its national title.

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