Gretchen Walsh won a silver medal in the women’s 100m butterfly one day after setting a new Olympic record in the semifinal heat.
The 21-year-old swimmer finished mere moments behind teammate Torri Huske, guaranteeing that two members of Team USA would be on the podium.
THE AMERICANS FINISH 1-2.
Torri Huske wins gold and Gretchen Walsh grabs silver in the women’s 100m fly. #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/wFPQUF5ARC
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 28, 2024
Walsh secured her first individual medal one day after setting an Olympic pool record in the 100m butterfly. On Saturday, she turned in a time of 55.38.
Walsh already held the world record in the event. She set that record (55.18) just last month in Indianapolis.
The 21-year-old Olympian follows in her family’s footsteps. Her older sister brought home the silver medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 200m individual medley. Both sisters also attend the University of Virginia together.
Walsh has been swimming since she was young, but she first garnered nationwide attention when she qualified for a national junior’s competition in 2015 at age 12. One year later in 2016, she became the youngest swimmer to ever compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Walsh was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but moved to Old Greenwich, Connecticut, while Gretchen and her sister, Alex, were young. Then, when Gretchen was 11 years old, her family returned to Nashville.