UVA's Walsh and Douglass Medal Again at World Aquatics Championships

Gretchen Walsh earned her first individual medal and second overall, while Kate Douglass captured medal No. 5 of the World Championships

The Virginia swimming & diving program was represented well once again on Saturday at the 2023 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan as multiple Cavalier swimmers earned medals. Gretchen Walsh captured her first-career individual medal at a senior international event, while Kate Douglass earned her fifth medal of the week at the World Championships. 

After earning her first World Championship medal earlier this week as part of Team USA's silver-medalist 4x100 freestyle relay team, Gretchen Walsh won a bronze medal for herself by placing third in the 50-meter butterfly. Walsh swam the race in 25.46 seconds, just behind China's Zhang Yufei (25.05) and Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom (24.77), who won her fifth-consecutive world title in the 50 butterfly. 

The first individual medal in a senior-level, international meet of her young career💪#AQUAFukuoka23 pic.twitter.com/axuBHCaLad

— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) July 29, 2023

Meanwhile, Kate Douglass continued to stockpile medals at the World Championships, medaling for the second day in a row and for the fifth time this week as part of Team USA's mixed 4x100 freestyle relay team. Douglass teamed up with Jack Alexy, another Cavalier swimmer in Matt King, and Abby Weitzel. Douglass swam the anchor leg in 52.42 and clocked Team USA in at 3:20.82 to win silver, as the Americans trailed a world-record effort by Australia (3:18.83) to win gold. 

Douglass now owns five medals at this week's World Championships, winning silver medals in the mixed 4x100 freestyle relay, 4x100 freestyle relay, and 200 breaststroke, bronze in the mixed 4x100 medley relay, and gold in the 200 individual medley. 

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