US Olympic Trials: Virginia Sending Six Swimmers to Paris for 2024 Olympics

Six current, former, or future Cavalier swimmers will represent Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Alex Walsh hugs Kate Douglass after competing in the 200-meter individual medley final, Saturday, June 22, 2024, during the eighth day of the U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY

The University of Virginia swimming & diving program will be represented with six current, former, or future UVA athletes on Team USA's Olympic Swimming Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials concluded on Sunday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and rising UVA senior Gretchen Walsh secured her third event in the Olympics by placing second in the final of the women's 50 freestyle.

Walsh's time of 24.15 seconds missed first place by just two one-hundredths of a second, as Simone Manuel won the title in 24.13 seconds. Abby Weitzel was third in 24.26 seconds, Torri Huske was fourth in 24.33 seconds, and fellow Cavalier Maxine Parker took eighth in 24.90 seconds.

SIMONE. MANUEL. 😤@swimone wins the 50m free in the final women's event of #SwimTrials24 and Gretchen Walsh will join her in this event in Paris. pic.twitter.com/kD9E0zuXvU

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 24, 2024

Six current, former, or future UVA swimmers secured spots on Team USA's roster for the 2024 Olympics and are confirmed to be competing in a total of 154 events:

Paige Madden (UVA '21): 400 free, 800 free, 200 free* (unconfirmed), 4x200 free relay
Gretchen Walsh (UVA '25): 100 fly, 50 free, 4x100 free relay
Kate Douglass (UVA '23): 100 free, 200 breast, 200 individual medley, 4x100 free relay
Emma Weber (UVA '26): 100 breast
Alex Walsh (UVA '24): 200 individual medley
Thomas Heilman (UVA '29): 200 butterfly, 100 butterfly

These swimmers can and likely will compete in more events as Team USA finalizes its teams for the mixed and medley relays at the Olympics.

UVA head coach Todd DeSorbo will serve as the women's head coach for the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team.

Former Virginia swimmer Paige Madden qualified for her second Olympics, finishing second to Katie Ledecky in both the 400 free and the 800 free and will swim in both of those individual events as well as the 4x200 free relay in Paris. Madden was an integral part of UVA's rise to the top of the collegiate swimming world, winning 2020 ACC Swimmer of the Year and winning four NCAA titles in 2021 to help Virginia capture its first national championship. After winning silver at the Tokyo Olympics in the 4x200 free relay, Madden will have three chances to earn more medals next month in Paris and could possibly have another in the 200 free* as current qualifier Katie Ledecky has said she won't be swimming that event at the Olympics and Madden is the next swimmer in line for that spot.

Rising UVA senior Gretchen Walsh locked up her first trip to the Olympics by taking first in the 100 butterfly, an event in which she broke the world record in the prelims. Walsh then took second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free, so she'll swim in the 100 butterfly, 50 free, and 4x100 free relay in Paris, with the potential for more relay appearances depending on how the relay teams are rostered. In three years at UVA, Walsh has won 18 NCAA titles and was named the CSCAA Women's Swimmer of the Year, the Honda Award Winner for Swimming & Diving, ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year, and ACC Women's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year this past season.

Former UVA swimmer Kate Douglass qualified for her second Olympics by winning three individual events this week in Indianapolis. Douglass, who took bronze in the 200 individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics, helped Virginia win three NCAA Championships in her time as a Cavalier. That run included Douglass winning one NCAA title in 2021, seven titles in 2022, and seven more in 2023 and she was also named the CSCAA Women's Swimmer of the Year, the Honda Award Winner, ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year, and ACC Women's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year in both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons. This week, Douglass took first in the 200 breaststroke, first in the 100 freestyle, and first in the 200 individual medley, breaking her own U.S. Open record in the 200 IM. Douglass will compete in those three events and the 4x100 free at least and will likely find herself in multiple medley and mixed relays as well.

Emma Weber was a surprise qualification for the Paris Olympics this week, taking second in the 100 breaststroke in 1:06.10, beating out Lydia Jacoby (1:06.37) for the Olympic spot. A rising junior from Denver, Weber is a three-time All-American in her two seasons as a Cavalier so far.

She had to wait until the second to last day of the trials to secure her spot, but Alex Walsh is officially headed to her second Olympics three years after she took silver in the 200 individual medley at the Tokyo Olympics. Walsh finished as the runner-up to Kate Douglass in the 200 IM at the trials on Saturday night to earn her spot on the U.S. Olympic Team and officially confirm that both Walsh sisters will be swimming in Paris. In four seasons at Virginia, Walsh has won an all-time conference record 26 ACC titles, 19 NCAA titles, and led the Cavaliers to four NCAA Championships. Word on the street is that Walsh will be using her COVID year to come back for a fifth season next year. But before then, Walsh will be headed to Paris looking to win another medal.

One of the most intriguing stories to emerge at this week's trials was that of Thomas Heilman, a 17-year-old UVA commit and Crozet native who won't arrive at Virginia until the fall of 2025 but who just became the youngest American male swimmer to make the Olympics since Michael Phelps in 2000. Heilman won the 200 butterfly in 1:54.50 and then took second in the 100 butterfly by four one-hundredths of a second to lock in his second event. In doing so, Heilman allowed another former Virginia swimmer to make the Olympics.

Matt King, who competed at UVA from 2021 to 2023 but then transferred to Indiana and took an Olympic redshirt this past NCAA season, finished third in the 50 free, brutally missing the cut for second by just one one-hundredth of a second. King also just barely missed the cut in the 100 free, placing sixth (the top five automatically earn a spot on the Olympic team). But since Caeleb Dressel and Thomas Heilman both earned two individual events to their Olympic sheet, spots opened up for Matt King and Brooks Curry to make the relay roster.

Even if you only count the swimmers who are currently swimming at Virginia (Gretchen Walsh, Emma Weber, Alex Walsh) or previously graduated from UVA (Paige Madden, Kate Douglass), it's still a program record five Cavaliers competing for the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The swimming events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will take place from July 27th to August 4th at Paris La Defense Arena.