Members of the University of Virginia Swimming and Diving team are set to make a splash at the United States Olympic Trials in Indianapolis June 15 to 23. Any Cavaliers who make the Olympic roster will join UVA Head Coach Todd DeSorbo in Paris, where he will lead the U.S. women’s team.
Since taking over as head coach in 2017, DeSorbo has led the Hoos to national prominence. The UVA Women’s roster swam their way to four consecutive NCAA championship victories under DeSorbo, taking home 11 of 16 individual national titles this year.
“Honestly, our biggest priority is to perform at the highest level internationally,” says DeSorbo. “It’s three months between NCAA [Championships] and Olympic Trials. It’s not a lot of time, but we’ve been preparing since August, September. The NCAA season keeps your mind off of the Olympic Trials. It’s a positive distraction and a great motivator.”
The Paris Olympics aren’t DeSorbo’s first foray into international swim coaching; he led the U.S women’s team at the 2022 FINA World Championships and served as an assistant coach for the Olympic women’s team in Tokyo in 2021.
Before diving into the pool in Indianapolis, Olympic hopefuls must post a qualifying time at a USA Swimming-sanctioned meet between November 30, 2022, and June 4, 2024. Qualifying swimmers then compete in heats for each event, culminating in the semi-final and final trials.
Only the top two finishers in each event’s final trial will make the Team USA roster, with some wiggle room for third through sixth place finishers in the 100 and 200-meter freestyle events to join the relay team. There are 26 spots each on the men’s and women’s teams, but the U.S. is not obligated to fill the entire roster.
More than 750 swimmers have qualified for the Olympic Trials at press time.
Several Hoos are vying for the opportunity to compete for Team USA in Paris this summer. Among the hopefuls are Tokyo Olympic medalists Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh, who took home the bronze and silver respectively in the women’s 200-meter individual medley in 2021.
“I always joke with people [that] I kind of train with my biggest competition in a lot of races, and I feel like that’s a great thing,” says Douglass about competing against her teammates. “Since we train against each other every day, when we go up and race we’re not scared. … We’re comfortable racing each other. … Obviously, having training partners that are also national team athletes [and] are also going to make the Olympics has been huge.”
“The intensity has been really high the past couple of weeks, and I think that’s normal heading into any championship meet, especially Olympic Trials. It’s like the biggest meet, second biggest meet in the world,” says Walsh.
More than one Walsh is expected to test the waters in Indianapolis though, with Alex’s younger sister and teammate Gretchen an early favorite to make the U.S. team after a wildly successful NCAA season.
“To have a sibling duo that is this elite and both going for the same Olympic dream is so rare, and I think that’s just a really cool story for us,” says Alex. “We have this extra characteristic of our bond where we can really come to each other and relate to each other on that level that I guess other siblings really can’t.”
“Alex has always been there for me to confide in when I’m struggling with practice, or something’s hurting, or mentally I just need someone to lean on,” says Gretchen. “She’s always going to be there for me, and I’m always going to be there for her.”
Jack Aikins is also anticipating the upcoming meet, especially after taking a year off of NCAA competition to focus on the Olympic Trials. “Last time I was just a high schooler; I didn’t have any expectations of myself or anything like that,” he says. “I swam really well just being myself and not thinking about many pressures … so I’m trying to replicate that and go into it with the same mindset again.”
Other standout Cavaliers heading to Indianapolis include Claire Curzan, Noah Nichols, Izzy Bradley, and August Lamb, but even more Hoos are still racing the deadline to qualify for the trials.
While tensions are high heading into the pressure-cooker meet, so is excitement.
“I’m looking forward to experiencing trials for the first time with a huge team,” says Gretchen. “I think we’re all ready. I’m ready.”