Less than an hour after Alex Walsh was denied an Olympic bronze medal by disqualification in her 200-meter individual medley, younger sister Gretchen helped set the 4×100 mixed medley relay world record with the Americans.
NANTERRE, France – Less than an hour after American swimmer Alex Walsh was disqualified and stripped of his bronze medal, his younger sister Gretchen won gold and helped Team USA set a world record.
Talk about the highs and lows of the Olympic stage for the tight-knit family from Nashville, Tennessee.
Alex Walsh finished third in the women’s 200 meter individual medley, in bronze position before a review canceled her result.
She was disqualified for not completing the backstroke leg of the backstroke race and turning too soon, according to World Aquatics. Alex walked through the mixed zone after his event at La Defense Arena on the penultimate night of swimming without speaking to reporters.
Shortly thereafter, Gretchen was part of the US 4×100 mixed relay team. They won gold and broke the world record in an event that debuted at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
She shook hands with Torri Huske on her left and Nic Fink on her right and joined backstroke star Ryan Murphy in the same medal position that Alex had missed out on earlier.
They finished in 3 minutes and 37.43 seconds, 0.12 ahead of China. This finish also underwent review before becoming official. When this happened, Murphy raised both arms in celebration.
The Walshes have achieved a lot together. Last spring, they led the University of Virginia to its fourth consecutive NCAA swimming and diving championship.
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