U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS - SWIMMING

June 22, 2024

Katie Douglass

Alex Walsh

Lucas Oil Stadium

Media Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome Alex Walsh and Katie Douglass.

Q. For Kate, wondering you are not overly emote active after you win races but you are competitive. Where did you channel your fire?

KATIE DOUGLASS: I guess at the end of some races I'm so tired I don't have the energy to celebrate, and I feel like that's sometimes where, you know, I'm not always celebrating after a race.

But I feel like sometimes I get really excited after races when I shock myself, and then there are other times where, yeah, there is an internal goal that I want to achieve, and if I don't achieve that, I'm still not happy with the race, but, yeah, just not showing that emotion.

Q. I know you're happy, you're celebrating. This is the end of an arduous and great week. Very quickly the page turns to Paris and to beating the Australians or competing with them or everyone else that's there. Could you talk about that. Even though I know you're on cloud 9 tonight because of this, but looking ahead and the competition in Paris?

ALEX WALSH: Yeah, I think Katie and I now having made our second Olympic Team we're definitely more than prepared to go to Paris, and we know what it takes to be able to bounce back after this very emotional and long meet, like you said, and get ready for our second nine-day meet of the year, so that's great.

I think Katie and I would say having been NCAA swimmers for a while we're definitely used to the back-to-back nature of championship meets so I don't think that's something either of us are too concerned about, but we're excited to be heading with Team USA and our head coach, Todd DeSorbo as the women's head coach. I think he will do a great job getting the entire team on to the same page

KATIE DOUGLASS: I feel like back in 2021 the goal was to make the team, and I feel like this time around, the whole year, making the team was part of the process, but we have bigger goals that we want to accomplish in Paris, and I feel like back in 2021, I just wanted to make the team, but now we're looking on to the next thing that we have to achieve.

Q. Katie, I know you spent a lot of time thinking about your race plan, an ideal race stroke count or underwaters. Curious how your races this week stacked up against that, and Alex it looked like your fly leg was strong. Is that something you have been focusing on heading into this meet?

KATIE DOUGLASS: Yeah, I do have race strategy with a lot of my races. Specifically I feel like the 200 Breaststroke is one where I focus on stroke count, and that final race I went way too fast, and I took more strokes than I should have, and I remember Todd came up to me after that, he was like, you didn't stick to the plan, and I was like, nope, and it hurt, and I felt it.

So I felt like I was struggling to stay in my race strategy this week, because I was feeling more sore and tired than usual, so struggling to, yeah, keep calm and relaxed in the water, especially at a stressful meet like this. I can kind of start pushing myself and trying a little too hard in races. Yeah, I feel like race strategy is something that I'm definitely going to focus on these next few weeks before Paris.

ALEX WALSH: To answer your question, I think working on having power, easy power in my Butterfly has been something that I've worked on a lot for the past couple of years, and I'm really happy with that fly split because it felt good. I definitely think looking at my other splits briefly after the race there are other things that I want to work on. The IM is so interesting because it's just about how can you put together all the pieces. So I'm still working on that, but it kind of gives me hope that I'm hopefully going to drop more in Paris.

Q. Alex, you said all along that it was your dream to make an Olympic Games with your sister. You have done that and what did it feel like when you hit that wall and realized your deem?

ALEX WALSH: I kind of alluded to this when we had our interview after the race but I think I'm the fourth, fifth, UVA person, I don't know the exact number but a lot of my teammates have made it, so I was definitely feeling the pressure, the stress that comes with racing at the end of a very long meet like this and seeing all my teammates succeed and make the Paris Games.

So more than anything I was honestly just really relieved. I knew that I could do it, I knew that if I had done the 200 IM that I always can do, that I would make the team. So I'm happy to have booked my ticket, and now I want to refocus. Yes, going with Gretchen is it just a dream come true. I had so much confidence in her that she was going to be able to make the team.

Once she did that that second night, I knew that I had to up hold my part of the goal. Obviously waiting several days is not ideal for that, but I'm really happy and I think more than anything I'm just really happy to have this whole experience with her, because it is once in a lifetime.

Being a part of a sibling duo is something that I never take for granted. I'm excited.

Q. Katie, I'm wondering how you feel you've done with dealing with the high and everything that swirled around you this year being an Olympic year, the expectations. You show up here and your face is on the side of the building. Did it ever become a burden to you? How have you dealt with it this week?

KATIE DOUGLASS: Yeah, I mean, it definitely -- there was a lot of pressure I felt like this whole year and specifically leading into this meet. Obviously my face on the stadium, when I saw that I was like, oh, wow, I really need to make this team. I obviously had confidence in myself but it was definitely scary just because I knew a lot of people had expectations for me, a lot of people had planned trips to Paris and I was like, I haven't made it yet, but hopefully that will be fun.

So I feel like I did a good job of -- I feel like just, you know, trusting the process, trusting Todd and knowing that -- being confident in my ability to -- I knew if I swam close to my best times and executed the race how I've always done in all three of the races that I swam that I was going to make the team. So I feel like I did a good job of being relaxed and focusing on my race plan and executing that.

Q. Gretchen earlier this week talked about strides that she made in her swimming and performance with the work of a confidence coach. I'm curious if that's someone you use, a sports psychologist, anything like that and seeing Gretchen and the strides she has made this year, if you can speak to how that aspect of her athletic training has contributed to her success.

ALEX WALSH: Gretchen and I both saw or were seeing the same confidence coach throughout high school. Gretchen still talks to her, as I'm sure she told you guys earlier this week. I go to a therapist, and she is also my sports psychologist I guess.

It really I feel like has made a world of difference I think. Really what has been so different for me this week is I remember three years ago, like, I was sobbing before the final, I was so stressed, so nervous, and granted I was in a way different position than I was coming into this week, but I think seeing someone and talking to someone about the mental aspect of swimming has definitely helped me stay really, like, even keeled throughout a very emotional week.

Yeah, I mean, I love my therapist. She is like the best thing that ever happened to me, so I have nothing but good things to say about talking about that side of the sport, the mental health side of the sport.

In terms of my sister Gretchen, it's been an honor to watch her so closely make these strides in the sport, and I think a huge part of that it her learning how to deal with like Katie talked about, the expectations that we have coming from UVA we placed great expectations on ourselves. We have a lot of pressure to perform. That's our team culture, but we always rise to that, so I think Gretchen is a great example of that.

KATIE DOUGLASS: Yeah, I mean like Alex I see a therapist and I think that's super important for someone especially at our level, and obviously that helped me also with dealing with all the expectations and the pressure going into this meet. I think we have all benefited from that.

Q. You've had a lot of discretion when it comes to picking events, and it relates to this 200 IM. For Kate, how did your choice to take a year off of the 200 IM help you become the best in the world - I'm pretty sure you haven't lost since Tokyo. And for Alex, how did being on the team affect you and how did you deal with the pressure?

KATIE DOUGLASS: I have definitely been open about how I struggled with the 200 IM. I feel like with that event in general, just -- it's a really hard event. It's the hardest event I swim, and I just get really scared sometimes before swimming it, and before Tokyo I was in a really bad place with that event and obviously it still ended up going pretty well for me.

I feel like taking a year off of it helped me get away from it. I remember the first time I swam it was at Short Course World's, and it ended up going well, and I was like, okay, I think I may start training this event again. That was what made me decide -- got me excited to swim it again because I feel like taking time away really helped me, yeah, just kinda take a break from all that.

But, yeah, now I feel like I'm in a better place with that event. I still don't love it, but it's been going okay.

ALEX WALSH: Hindsight is always 20-20, and I think earlier at Trials there were some points when I regretted not doing the 4 IM, because I thought to myself if I just trained this all year, like maybe I would have made the team. The whole reason why I didn't want to swim it is because -- I mean, obviously it's not the most enjoyable event; I think we all know that. And really I just -- I didn't think -- I thought my chances to medal in the 2 IM. The 2 IM has always been my favorite, and it's been the one that I had my biggest goals in so I wanted to focus on that. And the 4 IM was not something I wanted to focus on. It's as simple as that.

So I definitely at first was like I should have done the 4 IM, so I would have maybe made the team, and I wouldn't be feeling this anxious about making the team in the 2 IM, but after our swims be tonight I feel really good going to Paris in the 2 IM. I think I'm going to be able to set myself up to have a good swim, and I don't really like to live in the past. I'm confident with my decision. I'm happy. I was happy with my 2 breast and I'm looking forward to swimming that in future years.

Q. From an observer's standpoint seems like both of you were going similar times, in-season times which you guys typically swim fast in season. How did you rest or taper for Trials, and how will that be different heading into Paris? Will it be similar to like the ACCs to the NCAA transition?

KATIE DOUGLASS: Honestly, I feel like both of us don't really think about our exact taper so much. I just do whatever Todd tells me to do. I really don't overthink my taper because I feel like otherwise I get in my head. But I feel like we've obviously done the double taper with a few weeks in between like ACCs, NCAAs, and we have done the Trials to World's, and Trials to Olympics and I trust my coaches. Pretty much whatever Todd tells me to do, I will do.

ALEX WALSH: You bring up a really great point about how a lot of girls on our team swim fast all the time, especially Katie and Gretchen, it's literally mind blowing sometimes. But I anticipate that we will hike up our intensity in yardage a fair amount going into the next couple weeks of training, and then do I guess some sort of drop taper. I honestly am not familiar with the whole taper plan. I'm not -- we don't --

KATIE DOUGLASS: We don't really plan it.

ALEX WALSH: We're not that involved. We are more instructed on what to do. I think it is interesting because with Blair leaving and going to Texas A&M, I've definitely been more a part of Todd's group, and I think I have seen the transition and being able to swim faster in season and not just when I'm fully tapered, so still navigating that a little bit but I'm confident we will be all right come Paris.

Q. Katie, can you talk about that 200 Breast prelim swim out of nowhere. Some of your coaches said it was the hype of the crowd.

KATIE DOUGLASS: Todd did make a joke about it, he said let's give the crowd something to cheer for. Usually my plan in the 200 Breaststroke is to cruise it, see the lowest count possible that I can do and that was my plan, and I was pacing well in warm-up and Todd was like, I think you should go for it and see what you do, and I thought it was a good chance to practice my race strategy before final, because I thought the semifinal was going to be survival mode after the 100 Free.

So I think executing that race like I would in a final and just kind of use that to see what I needed to change for the actual final race, it was kind of, you know -- Todd was like why not, and I was like, yeah, honestly I feel good. Let's do it.

Q. Dozens of former and future UVA athletes are here competing this week. What do you think that can be attributed to? What does it say about the program with the success translating from NCAAs to this level?

ALEX WALSH: It's pretty remarkable just the trajectory that UVA swimming and diving has had over the past four or five years. We both feel really grateful to have been part of this ride because it's honestly been the most exciting and the most occasion you know -- I don't know what the right word is. It's been like -- makes me grateful you know to be a part of something that is cool as the story that we have built around UVA.

I think that the incoming classes that are here now are definitely getting really excited. You look at the number of girls from our team that have made the Olympic Team you look at Emma Weber who didn't even A final in some of her events and she just made the Olympic Team. Her story has been a testament to the fact that our program is able to produce really successful short course and long course athletes.

More than anything when we are walking out with a big group of us sitting on that mat out there in the training pool, we're always just having a great time. Our numbers are just -- like it's a great support system, and I think people want to be a part of that.

I'm getting excited. I sat in the ice bath for 20 minutes with Leah Hayes talking about what it's like to be a first year, and it made me nostalgic thinking about how much fun these kids are going to have and also what they are going to be able to contribute to this program. I'm excited for them and for Todd and all the coaches.

KATIE DOUGLASS: I think something that's been super cool for us is we've seen a lot of little kids walking with Virginia tee shirts on, and a lot of times we walk out of the hotel or in the pool and they're yelling "Go Wahoos" and I remember Todd said the goal for this program is to make little girls and boys want to grow up to swim at UVA. I feel like when I was younger Stanford was the place to be, and I feel like a lot of people had Stanford shirts, and he wanted to make that UVA's thing, and we've done that. And there are all these little kids who want to swim at UVA, and I think that's super cool.

Q. Congratulations to both of you. Alex, we had a chance to talk with Gretchen earlier, and she is excited to room with you in Paris. What are you guys going to do and is there a day limit where you might want to ask to switch roommates?

ALEX WALSH: Great question. I do think we will room together because, you and Reagan are going to room together; right?

KATIE DOUGLASS: Yes.

ALEX WALSH: I think there are pairs that enjoy rooming together. Gretchen and I did room at last year's World Championships, that training camp, and definitely staying in Fukuoka --

KATIE DOUGLASS: They definitely will fight.

ALEX WALSH: We know how to take our breaks and pause. I've been living with her for the past eight days and it's been a very enjoyable experience. She definitely likes to play music and vibe before our races, which today for me was super awesome. I was feeling really good in our hotel room getting ready to race. I know every sibling dynamic is different but I do cherish ours and I think we work well together and especially like -- we're always supporting each other no matter what.

I do think that if we are in a suite again, I think that we will probably end up together. I know three years ago we had six girls living in a suite, and that was just -- I have some of the funniest memories I will ever have in my life from there. This makes me happy talking about it, because I think the Olympics, the races are a huge part of it, but I think something we forget to get excited about is the fact that we are going to spend two months with people that are going to become some of our closest friends, so, it's pretty awesome.