Gretchen Claire Walsh (born January 29, 2003) is an American competitive swimmer and the world record holder in the 100 meter butterfly (long course), 50 meter freestyle (long course and short course), 50 meter butterfly (short course), 100 meter butterfly (short course), and 100 meter individual medley (short course). She won the silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where she also set the Olympic record in the 100 meter butterfly in the semifinals with a time of 55.38. She additionally holds one world junior record in the mixed gender 4×100 medley relay event, as well as American records in the 50 meter butterfly, 4×100 meter freestyle relay, 4×100 meter medley relay, 50 meter freestyle (short course), 50 meter backstroke (short course), 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard freestyle, 100 yard butterfly, 100 yard backstroke, 4×50 yard freestyle relay, 4×50 yard medley relay, 4×100 yard freestyle relay, and 4×100 yard medley relay.
Walsh competed collegiately for the University of Virginia. In 2022, she became the fastest female freshman to swim the 50 yard freestyle in the NCAA, with a time of 20.95 seconds, and earned the NCAA title in the 100 yard freestyle, with a time of 46.05 seconds, and the national title in the 100 meter butterfly. In 2023, she won the women's NCAA Division I title in the 100 yard backstroke, with an American record time of 48.26 seconds, and the 100 yard freestyle, with a 45.61. In 2024, she won NCAA titles in the 50 yard freestyle, 100 yard freestyle, and 100 yard butterfly, setting NCAA records in all three events with times of 20.37 seconds, 44.83 seconds, and 47.42 seconds, respectively. She repeated these championships in 2025 with times of 20.49 seconds, 44.71 seconds and 46.97 seconds.
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Early life and education
Walsh was born January 29, 2003, to mother Glynis Walsh and father Robert Walsh. She has an older sister, Alex, who is also a competitive swimmer. She attended Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, where she competed scholastically for the high school team, setting national high school records in the 50 yard freestyle and the 100 yard freestyle and winning state championships titles in multiple events.
In the autumn of 2021, Walsh started attending the University of Virginia, where she competes collegiately as part of the Virginia Cavaliers swimming and diving team.
Career
2015–2017: Early career & age-group success
In 2015, Walsh caught the attention of SwimSwam after achieving her first spot at a national competition for juniors when she was 12 years old. She became the youngest swimmer to qualify for the 2016 US Olympic Trials in 2016. In addition to being the youngest qualifier, at just 13 years of age, she was also the youngest swimmer to compete at the Olympic Trials, where she was 13 years, 4 months, and 13 days old at the time of competition. In the one event she qualified to compete in, the 50 meter freestyle, Walsh finished with a time of 26.55 seconds and placed 125th overall.
In December 2017, Walsh broke her own National Age Group record in the 50 yard freestyle for the girls 13–14 age group with a time of 22.00 seconds in the final of the event at the Speedo Junior Nationals East Championships in Knoxville. Four months later, in March 2018 and when she was 15 years old, Walsh became the youngest female American swimmer to swim the 50 yard freestyle race in less than 22.00 seconds with a time of 21.85 seconds that also broke the former National Age Group records in the event for the girls 15–16 age group set by both Simone Manuel and Kate Douglass at 22.04 on different dates.
2018-2020: International breakout
In 2018, Walsh qualified for the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Suva, Fiji in four individual events, and was selected to swim on four relays as a result. This marked her first time representing the United States internationally.
In Fiji, Walsh won the gold medal and broke the Championships record in the 100 meter freestyle on the first night of competition with a time of 54.47 seconds, which lowered the previous Championships record of 54.60 seconds set by Simone Manuel in 2012 by over one tenth of a second. In addition to this first gold medal, Walsh won gold medals in the 4×100 meter medley relay, 4×100 meter mixed medley relay, 4×100 meter freestyle relay, and the 4×200 meter freestyle relay, a silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle, and placed 12th in the 200 meter freestyle and 16th in the 100 meter butterfly.
Competing as part of the Nashville Aquatic Club at the 2019 Speedo Southern Premier Meet in Knoxville, Walsh broke the girls 15–16 age group National Age Group record of 47.73 seconds in the 100 yard freestyle set in 2013 by Simone Manuel with a time of 47.49 seconds. In May 2019 SwimSwam ranked Walsh as the number one NCAA recruit from all swimmers across the United States in the high school graduating class of 2021.
Ahead of the start of competition at the 2019 World Junior Championships held at Danube Arena in Budapest, Hungary in August, Walsh was named as one of the five captains for the United States contingent of swimmers at the Championships by USA Swimming. On the second day of competition, August 21, Walsh won her first medal, a gold medal in the 4×100 meter mixed medley relay, swimming the freestyle leg of the relay in 53.60 seconds and helping the relay set new world junior and Championships records in the event with a time of 3:44.84. The next day she won her first individual medal of the competition, a gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle with a time of 53.74 seconds. She won her third gold medal later the same day, this time swimming the fourth leg of the 4×100 meter mixed freestyle relay in a time of 53.83 seconds to contribute to the relay's winning time of 3:25.92, which was also a new world junior record and Championships record for the event. Two days later, on August 24, Walsh won a gold medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay, splitting a time of 54.13 seconds for the lead-off leg of the relay to help the relay achieve the winning mark of 3:37.61. On August 25, the final day of competition, Walsh brought her total medal count to six gold medals by winning a gold medal in the 50 meter freestyle in a time of 24.71 seconds as well as winning a gold medal in the 4×100 meter medley relay with a finals relay time of 3:59.13.
2021–2022: First collegiate season
In one of the first dual meets of her collegiate career, Walsh helped the Virginia Cavaliers, defeat the California Golden Bears, winning four individual events, including the 100 yard backstroke in 51.15 seconds, and swimming on two relays. Her performances contributed to collegiate swimming being ranked number one for "The Week That Was" honor from Swimming World for the week of October 18, 2021. Walsh was also named as the "Women's Swimmer of the Week" by the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC, for the week of October 19, 2021. Later in the month, at a dual meet between her school and Army, Walsh won the 200 yard freestyle. In January 2022, Walsh split a 23.04 for the lead-off leg of the 4×50 medley relay in a dual meet against North Carolina State University, becoming the fastest female American swimmer in the 50 yard backstroke.
In her first race of the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC, Championships in February 2022, Walsh tied Kate Douglass for a new ACC record in the 50 yard freestyle with a 21.25 in the prelims heats. With her time of 21.25 seconds, Walsh also became the fastest female freshman swimmer in the history of the NCAA in the 50 yard freestyle, edging out former fastest female freshman, Simone Manuel in 2015, by 0.07 seconds. In the final of the 4×50 yard freestyle relay in the evening, she split a 20.58 on the fourth leg to help achieve a first-place finish in an American record time of 1:24.47. Walsh swam a 21.04 in the final of the 50 yard freestyle to become the fourth-fastest woman ever to swim the event in the NCAA, behind Abbey Weitzeil, Kate Douglass, and Erika Brown, and placed second. On day three, Walsh helped set another American record, this time in the 4×50 medley relay, with a new record time of 1:31.81 to win the event. Her split time of 22.82 for the backstroke leg of the relay was the fastest 50 yard backstroke time by a female swimmer in the NCAA. The following morning, she ranked third in the prelims heats of the 100 yard backstroke in 51.53, qualifying for the final. In the evening, she placed second with a time of 50.13 seconds, which was 0.72 seconds behind first-place finisher Katharine Berkoff. She followed up her individual performance with a split of 49.71 on the backstroke leg of the 4×100 yard medley relay, helping set new American and US Open records in the event at 3:22.34. Her time of 49.71 seconds was a personal best time and moved her up in rankings to sixth-fastest female swimmer in the event.
Starting off her competition on the fifth and final day, Walsh qualified for the final of the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 47.07 seconds, which ranked her second overall in the prelims heats. In the final, she swam a personal best time of 46.86 seconds to take second place. Finishing off the meet, she anchored the 4×100 yard freestyle relay with a 46.35, helping win in an ACC record time of 3:08.22.
2022–2023: Second collegiate season
At the 2022 Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville in November, Walsh won the 50 yard freestyle with a personal best time of 20.94 seconds. She also achieved a personal best time of 49.89 seconds in the 100 yard butterfly in the preliminaries in the event. In early February 2023, she achieved a second-place finish in the 200 yard freestyle at the season's Cavalier Invitational with a personal best time of 1:43.24, which was 0.46 seconds behind first-place finisher and teammate Aimee Canny.
On the first night of the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, Walsh led off with a personal best time of 22.65 seconds for the backstroke portion of the 4×50 yard medley relay to help win the conference title in an American, US Open, and NCAA record time of 1:31.73. In her first final of the evening session the following day, she split a 20.48 for the second leg of the 4×50 yard freestyle relay, helping set new American, US Open, and NCAA records with a time of 1:23.87. Later in the session, she set new American, US Open, and NCAA records in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 20.83 seconds, lowering the former marks by 0.01 seconds from the 20.84 set by Kate Douglass in 2022 and winning the conference title. It marked her first American record in an individual event. It was also her first conference title in an individual event. She would go on to lower this record shortly after.
On the third evening, Walsh finished in a personal best time of 49.34 seconds in the final of the 100 yard butterfly to place second, 0.50 seconds behind first-place finisher Kate Douglass who set a new American record in the event. In the final of the 4×100 yard medley relay the following day, she contributed to winning the conference title with a 3:21.80, swimming the backstroke leg in 49.25 and helping set new US Open and NCAA records in the event. The fifth and final evening, she placed second in the final of the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 46.32 seconds. She concluded the Championships with a 46.41 on the lead-off leg of the 4×100 yard freestyle relay to help win the event and lower the US Open, American, and NCAA records in the event with a final time of 3:06.83.
Commencing competition at the 2023 NCAA Division I Championships with the 4×50 yard medley relay, Walsh and her relay teammates won the NCAA title with American, US Open, and NCAA records of 1:31.51. On the second evening, she first won the silver medal in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 20.85 seconds, then won a gold medal and NCAA title in the 4×50 yard freestyle relay, where she helped set a new Championships record of 1:24.51 by splitting a 20.59 for the second leg of the relay. In her first event of the third evening, she won her first 100 yard backstroke NCAA title with an American, US Open, and NCAA record time of 48.26 seconds, which was a time drop of 0.74 seconds from her previous personal best time. She followed up with an NCAA title in the 4×100 yard medley relay, swimming the backstroke leg of the relay to contribute to a finish in 3:22.39.
2023-2024: Third collegiate season
Walsh lowered her American record and tied the U.S. Open and NCAA records in the women's 50 freestyle during the first day of the Tennessee Invitational. At 20.79 seconds, the time tied the NCAA/U.S. Open record set by Maggie MacNeil.
At the 2024 NCAA Championships, Walsh swept all seven of her events, contributing strongly to the Virginia Cavaliers' victory, their fourth consecutive one. On the first day, Walsh split a 22.10 on her 50 yard backstroke leg en route to a pool record of 1:31.58 in the 4×50yd medley relay, coming just 0.07 seconds away from the NCAA & American records previously set by Virginia at the 2023 NCAA Championships. This split marked the fastest ever 50 yard backstroke split by a woman.
On the second day, Walsh twice lowered her NCAA and American records in the 50 yard freestyle, swimming a 20.41 in the preliminary heats before blasting a 20.37 in the finals to take first. This marked her first NCAA win in the 50 yard freestyle after two consecutive years placing 2nd. She additionally split a 20.23 on the second leg of the 4×50yd freestyle relay, culminating in Virginia winning with a time of 1:24.05, marking a meet and pool record.
On the third day, Walsh won the 100 yard butterfly in a 47.42, marking the first time any woman broke 48 seconds in the event. With the next fastest performer, Kate Douglass, holding a personal best time of 48.46, Walsh's performance was a full second faster than any other woman had ever swam. She then swam a 48.26 in the 100 yard backstroke to open Virginia's 4×100yd medley relay, which won in a 3:21.01, breaking the NCAA and American records.
On the meet's last day, Walsh won the 100 yard freestyle in a 44.83, marking the first time any woman broke 45 seconds in the event. She concluded her meet by splitting a 45.17 on the third leg of Virginia's 4×100yd free relay, marking the fastest recorded split in that relay's history. Virginia ultimately won the event in a 3:05.89, just 0.05 seconds from their own NCAA record. Walsh concluded the meet with a perfect 7-for-7 first places, including three individual NCAA records, one relay NCAA record, and pool records in all seven events.
At the 2024 United States Olympic trials in June, Walsh set a new world record in the long course 100-metre butterfly with a time of 55.18, breaking the former record of 55.48 set by Sarah Sjöström at the 2016 Summer Olympics. While Walsh had held multiple American & NCAA records up to this point in short course yards, this performance marked her first ever American or world record in long course meters.
Business
Gretchen and her sister Alex were the first NCAA athletes (and set of siblings) to launch an apparel line with a major retailer after the passage of the NIL. In September 2022, they released a collaboration with Sporti by Swimoutlet.com and created their swimsuit line, called Sporti x Alex + Gretchen Walsh.
Personal best times
World records
National records
Short course yards (25 yd pool)
Legend: NR – American record; US – US Open record
Awards and honors
SwimSwam, Weekly Wonders of Age Group Swimming: August 5, 2015
Swimming World, Up & Comers: September 6, 2016
USA Swimming, Team USA Captain: 2019 World Junior Championships
National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA), All-American High School Swimmer: 2020–2021
Swimming World Magazine, Cover Issue: Special Double Issue (May/June 2020, Vol. 61, No. 6)
SwimSwam, Swammy Award, NCAA Freshman of the Year (Women's): 2022
Arena, Swim of the Week: January 28, 2022
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Swimmer of the Week (female): October 19, 2021, January 25, 2022, October 25, 2022, November 8, 2022, January 24, 2023
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Freshman of the Year (Women's): 2021–2022
Swimming World, The Week That Was: October 18, 2021 (#1)
Honda Sports Award, finalist: 2022–2023, Winner: 2025
StyleBlueprint, Top 10 Most Popular Articles in Nashville for 2022 for an article covering the launch of her and her sister's clothing line.
Golden Goggle Awards, Breakout Performer of the Year: 2024
Golden Goggle Awards, Relay Performance of the Year: 2024, 2025