On the final night of ACC Championships, Virginia’s Alex Walsh broke the ACC and meet record in the 200 breaststroke touching at 2:03.02 seconds.
This time is also the 2nd fastest time ever and puts her as the 2nd fastest performer ever, sitting behind Lilly King’s 2:02.60 (2018) and 2:02.90 (2019), and places her ahead of teammate Kate Douglass (2:03.14), which she posted during a time trial at the Cavalier Invite earlier this month, and was the former ACC record.
Douglass did not swim the 200 breaststroke tonight, and instead won the 100 freestyle (46.81), touching just before teammate Gretchen Walsh (46.86).
During Saturday’s prelims session, Walsh was seeded with a “no-time,” which left her swimming in the first heat of the day. There, she finished way ahead of her competitors and posted a 2:05.11, which seeded her 1st heading into finals.
Walsh’s swim de-throned NC State’s Sophie Hansson, who was seeking a four-peat in this event. Hansson took 2nd (2:03.75), which is faster than her time that won her an NCAA title in the event last year (2:03.86). At the 2021 ACC Championships, Hansson’s winning time was 2:04.87 seconds.
The Cavaliers have a glut of 200 breaststrokers. In addition to Walsh, who says that she is not planning to swim this event at the NCAA Championships, Virginia has many dominant 200 breaststrokers.
- Alex Walsh, 1st (2:03.02)
- Kate Douglass, N/A (2:03.14)
- Ella Nelson, 3rd (2:04.95)
- Anna Keating, 6th (2:07.86)
- Alexis Wenger, 7th (2:07.87)
Nelson placed 3rd in this event at the 2021 ACC Championships (2:05.91) and placed 2nd to Hansson at the NCAA Championships last season (2:04.35).
In 2021, Keating was 4th in the 200 breaststroke at ACC Championships (2:07.52) and 21st in the 200 breaststroke at NCAA Championships. (2:08.97). Last season, Wenger was 7th at NCAA Championships (2:06.90) and 7th at NCAA Championships (2:08.93). Last year at the NCAA Championships, Walsh finished 5th in the 200 breaststroke (2:05.86) and swam the 200 backstroke instead of the 200 breaststroke at ACC Championships where she finished 3rd (1:51.12).
What’s Alex’s potential internationally in the future as far as making Olympic/Worlds teams?
200br, 200IM, 400IM, 4x200fr?
Kinda like 2016 Maya Dirado, except br instead of bk.
I’ve retyped this comment about 4 times because every time I start to type it I talk myself into something different.
I think the 200 IM and 800 free relay are good bets for now. Beyond that? Limitless.
I wanna wait and see what happens with the 200 fly at NCAAs. It feels like she’s always one swim away from blowing our minds again. Maybe she’ll pop a 200 fly and we’ll have to start all over again.
Controversial statement: I think her impact as an American could be wasted. I’d love to see her get into the European mold and go race Mare Nostrums and Sette Collis and World Cups every year, do the Katinka Hosszu thing, and rewrite… Read more »
She is beauty she is grace
2.03 in the 200 breast
49 mid fly relay split
46.7 free relay split
We know what she’s capable of doing on backstroke.
Her versatility is impressive.
I want to see Alex Walsh train for the 400 IM so that she tries the IM double in 2024.
But maybe that’s not in her plans. 😆
Alex might need to rethink that plan to swim 2fly at NCAAs…
Ella Nelson actually got 2nd in the 200 Breast at 2021 NCAAs (not third)
Hansson 3x ACC champ, and would be 3rd-fastest on UVA’s roster…
Not to mention 4th at SC worlds
we’ll see next month