Preview: Four Virginia Swimmers Take on 2023 World Aquatics Championships

How to watch Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, Alex Walsh, and Maxine Parker at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships this week in Fukuoka, Japan

Virginia Athletics

Kate Douglass, Maxine Parker, Alex Walsh, and Gretchen Walsh will be donning Team USA swimsuits as they travel to Fukuoka, Japan for the World Championships. If you want to tune in at home, NBC will stream all events on Peacock. With the 13-hour time difference, preliminary heats will take place each day from 9:30pm-1am EST, while semifinals and finals will occur between 7am-9:30am EST. In order to qualify for the finals of an event, swimmers will need to place well in the heats and the semifinals, so every race matters.

Saturday, July 22nd

Get in on the action on Saturday night in the U.S. and watch some Virginia swimmers in the preliminary heats! Starting at approximately 9:30pm EST on Saturday night, watch Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh in the prelims of the 200-meter individual medley. Two races later, Gretchen Walsh swims in the 100 butterfly. Towards the end of the session, Maxine Parker, Gretchen Walsh, and Kate Douglass are three of the six swimmers that have qualified for the 4x100 freestyle relay, so whoever swims the heats will cap off a late night of prelims for Cavalier fans. 

Sunday, July 23rd

A 7am EST wake up is in order to see Gretchen Walsh in the 100 butterfly semifinals, and Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass will dive in for her semifinals of the 200 IM later in the morning. Then, Virginia fans can see the first finals event of the day, as the Americans try to beat Australia in the 4x100 free relay in what is shaping up to be an electric race. Kate Douglass, Gretchen Walsh, and Maxine Parker will have their hands full.

Monday, July 24th

There are two finals to watch on this day. Gretchen Walsh will fight for a shot at a medal in the 100 butterfly in the morning, and then Alex Walsh and Kate Douglass will compete in the 200 IM finals for the last event of the day, so it will take place around 8:30am EST. Alex Walsh won the gold medal in this event in the 2022 World Championships.

Wednesday, July 26th

After some time off for the Cavalier swimmers, the next round of prelims begins. Tune in at 9:30 pm EST to watch Kate Douglass in the 100 freestyle prelims, and then two races later she’ll swim again in the 200 breaststroke prelims. 

Thursday, July 27th

Kate Douglass will swim in the semifinals of the 100 freestyle and the 200 breaststroke later in the day for her, but after a quick night of sleep for fans back in the United States. This time, she’ll have four races in between to catch her breath. At night, fans can watch Gretchen Walsh swim in the prelims of the 50 butterfly.

Friday, July 28th

Leading off the morning at 7:00am EST, Kate Douglass will hope to earn a medal in the 100 freestyle. After a three-race break, she’ll swim again in the 200 breaststroke. In addition, Gretchen Walsh has the semifinals of the 50 butterfly in the morning. Gretchen Walsh’s final individual event is the 50 freestyle, and the prelims for that start on June 29th in Japan, so the night of the 28th in the United States.

Saturday, July 29th

Gretchen Walsh has two sprints close together on this day. At 7am EST she will race in the 50 butterfly finals, and then she will have one race to catch her breath before diving in for the 50 freestyle semifinals. Alex Walsh will get back in the pool after several days off with the 400 IM prelims, looking to make a mark on this event.

Sunday, July 30th

The Walsh sisters could swim in back-to-back finals on the final day of the FINA World Championships. Gretchen will go for gold in the 50 freestyle, followed by Alex in the 400 IM.

It will be a lot of swimming to watch for fans, and hopefully the Cavalier swimmers can successfully qualify for the finals and give themselves a chance to compete against the best swimmers in the world. 

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