Paige Madden and Alex Walsh Punch Tickets to Tokyo Olympics

OMAHA, Neb. – Paige Madden and Alex Walsh officially became U.S. Olympians on Wednesday night at the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Madden officially secured a spot going to the Tokyo Olympics with the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay after finishing third in the 200m freestyle with a time of 1:56.80. She also has a second-place finish in the 400m freestyle from Monday night’s session.

Walsh earned her spot on the Olympic team in the closest race of the night. She finished first with a time of 2:09.30 in the 200-meter medley. She out-touched teammate Kate Douglass, who finished second, with a time of 2:09.32. Just .02 seconds separated the top-two finishers. Douglass will likely make the Olympic team, with the official announcement of the full team coming at the end of Trials.

In the prelims, Matt Brownstead finished 27th in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 49.79. Abby Harter placed 33rd in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:16.42.

In the men’s 200-meter breaststroke, Noah Nichols finished 23rd with a time of 2:14.23 and Matt Otto clocked in at 2:15.05 to place 32nd overall.

Results:

Men’s 100 Free

Prelims: 27th – Matt Brownstead – 49.79

Women’s 200 Fly

Prelims: 33rd – Abby Harter – 2:16.42

Men’s 200 Breast

Prelims: 23rd – Noah Nichols – 2:14.23; 32nd – Matt Otto – 2:15.05

Women’s 200 Free

Finals: 3rd – Paige Madden – 1:56.80*

Women’s 200 Individual Medley

Finals: 1st – Alex Walsh – 2:09.30*; 2nd – Kate Douglass – 2:09.32

*Olympic Qualifiers

Thursday’s Events (Potential UVA Swimmers)

Prelims/Semifinals:

Women’s 100 Free – Kate Douglass, Paige Madden, Alex Walsh

Men’s 200 Back – Sean Conway

Women’s 200 Breast – Anna Keating, Ella Nelson

Men’s 200 Medley – Sean Conway