Harpeth Hall alumna swimmer Olympic bound

Standout swimmer Alex Walsh ’20 is Olympic bound. 

The Harpeth Hall alumna finished first in the 200-meter IM at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday. Her time of 2:09.30 clinched her spot in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. 

In a heart-racing photo finish, Alex touched the wall .02 seconds ahead of Kate Douglass, her teammate at the University of Virginia. The women will now travel together to Japan.

"I couldn't believe I touched first," Walsh told reporters after the race. "I'm just so happy. I'm so excited to represent the USA in Tokyo. I really couldn't be more pleased."

Three other Harpeth Hall alumnae are participating in the 2021 U.S. Olympic swim trials this week. Alex is joined by her sister, Gretchen Walsh ’21, along with Alex Massey '20 and Ella Nelson '19. Each athlete is competing in multiple events in Omaha. 

With the win, Alex builds on Harpeth Hall’s Olympic legacy. She will become the fourth alumnae to compete in the Olympic games. She joins:

• Margaret Groos Sloan '77, who competed in the marathon at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, and was an alternate for the 1984 Olympic Games. 
• Tracy Caulkins Stockwell '81, who won three Olympic gold medals — the 400-meter (American record); 200-meter (Olympic record); and the 4x100-meter medley relay — at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
• Linden Wiesman Ryan '93, who won a bronze medal in team eventing at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

TUNE IN

You can watch qualifying heats for the U.S. Olympic swim trials each morning on NBCOlympics.com. Finals air on NBC each night.

Gretchen Walsh '21

100 butterfly

100 freestyle

50 freestyle

Alex Massey '20

100 butterfly

200 butterfly

Alex Walsh '20

100 backstroke

200 IM

200 backstroke

Ella Nelson '19

400 IM

100 breaststroke

200 IM

200 breaststroke