Cavaliers Now

Gretchen Walsh Shatters Records, UVA Swimmers Earn Big Money at World Championships

Matt Newton

USA Swimming

As if the Virginia swimming & diving program needed any more recruiting material... The Cavaliers have already established themselves as the best women's swimming program in the country, winning each of the last four NCAA national championships, but the last five months have cemented their dominance on an international level. UVA swimmers won 11 medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including five gold medals. Last week in Budapest, Hungary, many of those same swimmers raised the bar even further at the 2024 World Aquatics Short Course Championships.

Headlined by one of the greatest individual performances at a world championship swim meet in history by Gretchen Walsh, Virginia swimmers won 10 titles and broke 14 world records at the World Championships.

Let's start with Gretchen Walsh, who wrapped up her unbelievable 2024 campaign with her best performance yet. Walsh claimed seven world titles, including two relays and all five individual events that she participated in, and broke 11 world records, nine of which were in individual events. Of the 15 times she swam an individual event in Budapest, Walsh broke a world record in nine of them. Walsh joined an exclusive list of just six American swimmers to win at least four titles at a world championship or Olympic event: Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Katie Ledecky, and Caleb Dressel.

Naturally, Gretchen Walsh was named the Best Female Swimmer at the World Aquatics 25M Championships. Look at the image below from the World Aquatics X account that depicts Walsh's remarkable swims over a five-day period in a calendar format.

And here's the best part. There was some major money up for grabs at the World Championships and the Cavaliers cashed in big time, especially Gretchen Walsh.

Any swimmer that won a world title in Budapest received $10,000 USD, with the other top eight finishers in each event also receiving consolation cash prizes. Furthermore, there was a world record bonus of $25,000 given to any swimmer who broke a world record during the meet.

According to SwimSwam, Gretchen Walsh earned a total of $290,416.67 in prize money during the meet. For context, that's more than every other country's total prize money from the meet except for the United States, which earned $947,000.

For those wondering about maintaining "amateur status" for current NCAA athletes, all NCAA swimmers are permitted to keep their prize money up to their expenses for the meet. The rest can be funneled to the athletes through the National Olympic Committee. So, yes Gretchen Walsh and her teammates who are still swimming at UVA are getting to keep their prize money while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.

Fellow former Cavalier Kate Douglass had the fourth-most individual total prize money, earning $118,416.67. Douglass won individual world titles in the 200 IM and 200 breast and broke world records in the those two events as well, while also swimming as part of two world record-breaking relay teams. She took silver in the 50 free and the 100 IM, finishing second to Gretchen Walsh in both events.

Alex Walsh earned $26,166.67 in total prize money, swimming as part of the 4x200 free and 4x100 medley relay team that each won the title in world record time. She also picked up two silver medals in the 200 IM and the 4x100 mixed medley and two bronze medals in the 200 breast and 4x50 mixed medley.

Katie Grimes, who is set to enroll at UVA in January and will compete with the Cavaliers this spring as they go for their fifth-consecutive national title, won three medals, including gold in the 4x200 free, as she swam with Alex Walsh and Paige Madden to win the title and break the world record. Grimes also picked up a silver in the 400 IM and a bronze in the 800 free, finishing with $22,916.67 in prize money.

Former Cavalier Paige Madden, who won Virginia's first national championship back in 2021 and who is having the best year of her professional swimming career, won gold as part of that world record 4x200 relay team and earned $23,916.67.

Another Wahoo Olympian from this summer and current UVA swimmer, Emma Weber, won gold as part of the 4x100 medley relay team and brought home $1,250.

The lone swimmer from the UVA men's swimming team who made the trip to Budapest, Jack Aikins made the final in the 200 backstroke and finished fifth, earning $5,000.

Borrowing from the VirginiaSports.com recap of the meet, here is a summation of everything UVA swimmers accomplished at the 2024 World Aquatics Short Course Championships:

World Champions (10)
Gretchen Walsh (5): 50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 100 IM
Kate Douglass (2): 200 IM, 200 Breast
4×100 Free Relay (Douglass, G Walsh)
4×200 Free Relay (A Walsh, Madden, Grimes)
4×100 Medley Relay (Douglass, G Walsh; prelims Weber, A. Walsh)

Individual World Records (11)
Gretchen Walsh (9): 50 Free (22.87), (22.83); 50 Fly (24.02), (23.94); 100 Fly (53.24), (52.87), (52.71), 100 IM (55.71), (55.11)
Kate Douglass (2): 200 IM (2:01.63), 200 Breast (2:12.50)

Relay World Records (3)
4×100 Free Relay (Douglass, G. Walsh)
4×200 Free Relay (A.Walsh, Madden, Grimes)
4×100 Medley Relay (Douglass, G. Walsh)

American Records (18)
Gretchen Walsh (12): 50 Free (23.02), (22.87), (22.83); 100 Free (50.49), (50.31); 50 Fly (24.02), (23.94); 100 Fly (53.24), (52.87) (52.71); 100 IM (55.71), (55.11)
Kate Douglass (2): 200 IM (2:01.63), 200 Breast (2:12.50)
Katie Grimes (1): 400 IM (4:20.14)
Relays: 4×100 Free, 4×200 Free, 4×100 Medley

Medals by UVA Athletes (25)
Gretchen Walsh (7): 7 Gold (50 Free, 100 Free, 50 Fly, 100 Fly, 100 IM, 4×100 Free, 4×100 Medley)
Kate Douglass (7): 4 Gold (200 IM, 200 Breast, 4×100 Free, 4×100 Medley), 2 Silver (50 Free, 100 IM), 1 Bronze (100 Free)
Alex Walsh (6): 2 Gold (4×200 Free, 4×100 Medley), 2 Silver (200 IM, 4×100 Mixed Medley), 2 Bronze (200 Breast, 4×50 Mixed Medley)
Katie Grimes (3): 1 Gold (4×200 Free), 1 Silver (400 IM), 1 Bronze (800 Free)
Paige Madden (1): 1 Gold (4×200 Free)
Emma Weber (1): 1 Gold (4×100 Medley)

Published
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.