The University of Virginia will host its annual pre-NCAA Championship “Sprint Olympics” on Tuesday at 3:30 PM Eastern time.
The meet is a quadrathalon-style setup, with each swimmer racing 50 yards of each stroke and the lowest aggregate time winning.
The meet serves a dual purpose for Virginia, home to the three-time defending NCAA Champion women’s team. One is that it gives an exciting and fast-paced competitive format to break up the month-long gap between the ACC Championships and NCAA Championships.
The other is that it gives the Cavaliers, a team with piles of versatility, the opportunity to get final data points for assembling its medley relays at the NCAA Championships. With swimmers like Alex Walsh and Gretchen Walsh able to swim 3-4 legs of any given medley relay at a national-title level, this gives the Virginia coaches a two-weeks-out check-in to see where they might be able to optimize another tenth or two out of their sprint relays, which are the best in the nation.
At last year’s meet, Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass both clocked 21-lows in the 50 free (21.15 and 21.03, respectively), a forebearer of their electric NCAA Championship performances two weeks later.
- Click here to see the full 2022 UVA sprint Olympic results.
- Click here to see the full 2023 UVA sprint Olympic results.
Last year, Kate Douglass won the women’s event with an aggregate time of 1:33.86 and Gretchen Walsh was 2nd in 1:34.76. Matt Brownstead won the men’s race with an aggregate 1:26.73.
Meet Records
| WOMEN’S RECORDS: | |
| OVERALL | 2023 DOUGLASS 1:33.86 |
| 50 FLY | 2023 DOUGLASS 22.27 |
| 50 BACK | 2022 G. WALSH 23.04 |
| 50 BREAST | 2023 DOUGLASS 26.90 |
| 50 FREE | 2023 G. WALSH 21.03 |
| FRESHMAN | 2022 G. WALSH 1:35.38 |
| 50 FLY | 2022 G. WALSH 22.86 |
| 50 BACK | 2022 G. WALSH 23.04 |
| 50 BREAST | 2023 WEBER 27.09 |
| 50 FREE | 2022 G. WALSH 21.06 |
| MEN’S RECORDS: | |
| OVERALL | 2023 BROWNSTEAD 1:26.73 |
| 50 FLY | 2023 BROWNSTEAD 21.03 |
| 50 BACK | 2023 BROWNSTEAD 21.45 |
| 50 BREAST | 2023 NICHOLS 23.94 |
| 50 FREE | 2022 KING 19.34 |
| FRESHMAN | 2022 AIKINS 1:29.29 |
| 50 FLY | 2022 AIKINS 22.03 |
| 50 BACK | 2022 AIKINS 22.32 |
| 50 BREAST | 2021 NICHOLS 24.79 |
| 50 FREE | 2022 AIKINS 19.70 |
The meet, usually limited to the team’s NCAA Championship squad, will this year also include post-grad Kate Douglass, redshirt-transfer Claire Curzan, and redshirt swimmer Jack Aikins, who are all sitting out the NCAA season for one reason or another.
The Virginia women will race at the 2024 NCAA Championships from March 20-23 in Athens, Georgia, while the men will race a week later in Indianapolis. The Virginia women are projected to outscore all other swimming teams by at least 100 points at that meet. Men’s invites will go out on Wednesday.
Do people have a link to the results from this??
They posted results in their instagram story feed & I screenshot it.
Gretchen won with a cumulative 1:34.57. 22.60 fly, 23.24 bk, 27.71 br, 21.02 free.
2- Jasmine N., 1:36.45
3- Alex- 1:38.16
4- Aimee Canny- 1:38.50
5- Claire C.-1:39.44, 22.67 fly, but 31 br
No results shown for Kate Douglass
1- Brownstead – 1:26.56
2- Aikins – 1:27.45
3- Nichols – 1:28.83
walsh was 1:34.57 22.60 fly 23.24 back 27.71 breast 21.02 free
I wonder if they suit up for this meet. My guess is yes.
Not sure about the end of the article where it states UVA is projected to outscore all other teams by at least 100 points. If you think that be prepared to be disappointed. Texas will be much closer than that as I guess someone didn’t count diving.
I get that you absolutely loathe Virginia with every fiber of your being, but that doesn’t change psych sheet scoring. Psych sheet scoring is what it is.
Kate Douglass vs Alex Walsh vs McIntosh at Paris is going to be the best women’s 2IM final of all time
Sadly, McIntosh doesn’t get preferential treatment like Regan Smith and Leon Marchand.
Otherwise, she also could have swum 800 (as it is now, 200 IM and 800 free are on the same sessions)
Don’t want to be the grammar police but the headline has the classic it’s/its mistake.
It’s a cult.
Its, not It’s