Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh Put on Pre-Trials Show in 200 IM at NCAP Elite Qualifier

Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh Put on Pre-Trials Show in 200 IM at NCAP Elite Qualifier

The calendar says the United States Olympic Trials don’t start for another 13 days, but the anticipation for the meet built on Sunday night when teammates Kate Douglass and Alex Walsh engaged in a sensational duel in the 200-meter individual medley. Racing at the NCAP Elite Qualifier, Douglass narrowly edged Walsh, with both women dipping under the 2:08 barrier.

Douglass ultimately prevailed in a time of 2:07.76, which was slightly quicker than the 2:07.99 of Walsh. Through the opening butterfly leg, Douglass and Walsh were tied at 28.12. Walsh took a lead of 1:00.42 to 1:00.91 on the backstroke leg, as she covered that length in 37.35. Walsh padded her lead on the breaststroke leg, thanks to a 37.35 split (compared to 37.44 for Douglass). But Douglass had an answer on the closing freestyle, which she covered in 29.41. Walsh capped her swim with a split of 30.22.

Walsh and Douglass were the silver and bronze medalists in the 200 IM at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and they head to Trials in Indianapolis as the favorites to represent Team USA this summer in Paris. Douglass is the two-time defending world champion, having captured gold in Fukuoka (2023) and Doha (2024).

In other action, Claire Curzan topped the field in the 200 backstroke behind a time of 2:09.50 while Gretchen Walsh was first in the 100 freestyle, clocking 53.80.

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UVA Fan

1 day ago

Good swims. But expect to see big drops from all of the UVA women at trials. Go Hoos. Go fast, finish hard!