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AUGUST 2022 15 BY KRISTIN THURMAN O lympic medalist, ACC cham- pion, NCAA champion and World Championships medalist are just a few of the titles Vir- ginia women's swimmer Kate Douglass added to her already incredible résumé this past season. The Pelham, N.Y., native set the swimming world on fire for the entire year, collegiately and internationally. Her 2021-22 season started with the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games in July. Doug- lass won bronze in the 200-meter individual medley for Team USA, her first international medal. The Olympics led right into UVA's season, with Douglass returning as a vet- eran for the reigning NCAA champions. The Cavaliers went undefeated during the season, going 6-0 in dual meets; won their third consecutive ACC title; and capped an amazing season with their second straight NCAA championship. Douglass won three individual ACC events (50 free, 100 free and 100 fly) and was part of four ACC-winning relays, then followed that up with a sweep of her three NCAA individual events (50 free, 100 fly and 200 breast) and four NCAA relay wins. She set American records in all three individual events as well as the four relays to lead UVA to its second straight NCAA title. Her performance during the season earned her the Honda Sport Award for swimming and div- ing, as well as Collegiate Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America Women's Swimmer of the Year and ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year honors. "Looking back, it was a really busy year because the college season was pretty exhausting and it ended with a great NCAA Championships, for me personally as well as the team as a whole," Douglass said. The season wasn't over, though, because Douglass had to jump right back into the wa- ter and start training for the 2022 Phillips 66 International Team Trials in Greensboro, N.C. Douglass qualified for four events at the Tri- als, finishing second in the 200-meter breast to qualify for Team USA. She also finished fourth in the 100-meter fly, and fifth in the 50 and 100 free. Her sprint free finishes secured her spots on USA's relay teams as well. "It was hard to go from that [Virginia's colle- giate season] right back into training to make the World Championships and the stress of going into World Championship Trials," Doug- lass said. "After making World Championships, I just trained continually to make it to that meet. It was a lot. It was pretty exhausting. "But I'm proud of myself for being able to still accomplish what I did without any breaks throughout the year." After her exciting victory in the 200-yard breast at NCAA Championships, an event Douglass has not consistently competed in during her first three years at UVA, she de- cided she wanted to expand her international events to include the 200 breast. She fin- ished second at the Trials to make Team USA, finishing ahead of 2020 Olympic bronze medalist in the event, Annie Lazor, and be- hind Olympic silver medalist, Lilly King. "I decided to switch it [events] around a little bit prior to Trials," Douglass said. "I was really excited about my short course 200- yard breaststroke, so I was pretty confident in my long course 200 breaststroke. I felt like that could be really good if I trained for it. "I have not trained for that the last two or three years, so that was a focus for me. I also wanted to focus on swimming the 100 free because I knew I would have a good chance of making the relay teams since they take six people." Douglass added to her already huge collec- tion of medals during the season, winning sil- ver in the 200-meter breast and grabbing two bronze medals as part of Team USA relays at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Buda- pest, Hungary. She then closed out her whirl- wind year by flying directly from Budapest to Los Angeles for the Honda Cup ceremony as one of the 12 finalists for the award given to the top collegiate female athlete. "The Honda Award is a great event," Dou- glass said. "I was pretty exhausted coming right from Worlds, but it was really cool to meet a bunch of other athletes from differ- ent sports who are in the same position in their respective sports. "Hearing about all their accomplish- ments, I was really impressed, and it was fun just to get to know each other. There's also a lot of women who had won the Honda Cup previously, so the best female college athletes in the past were there and being able to hear their sto- ries was super cool." What Douglass accom- plished in 2021-22 was remarkable. During the 2022 NCAA Championships broadcast, NBC swimming analyst and Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines said her wins in the 50-yard free, 100-yard butterfly and 200- yard breast, all in American record times, could be the "greatest performance in NCAA history." She also cemented herself as one of the new faces of USA Swimming and with her range of events, will be impressing swimming fans for years to come. RED HOT RED HOT Kate Douglass Set The Swimming World On Fire, Collegiately And Internationally After a stellar third-year campaign, Douglass was honored as the Honda Sport Award winner for swimming and diving, the Col- legiate Swimming and Diving Coaches Asso- ciation of America Women's Swimmer of the Year and the ACC Women's Swimmer of the Year. (Photo by Robert Beck) FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR " It was pretty exhausting. But I'm proud of myself for being able to still accomplish what I did without any breaks throughout the year. " DOUGLASS ON HER SUCCESS DURING A BUSY 2021-22, COMPETING AT BOTH THE INTERNATIONAL AND COLLEGIATE LEVELS