Gretchen Walsh

n this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Olympic medalist Elizabeth Beisel steps in as guest host alongside Todd Anderson while Katie Hoff Anderson is a week out from giving birth. Together they sit down with Olympic champion and world record holder Gretchen Walsh for a wide-ranging conversation recorded just days before the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships. Fresh off a summer of international racing and her first season as a full-time professional, Gretchen opens up about what success actually looks like when you've already won almost everything, and about the one world record she can't stop thinking about.

Gretchen breaks down where her head is heading into Pan Pacs, why relays mean more to her than any individual event right now, and what it's been like to chase Sarah Sjöström's last standing world record while sitting just hundredths away. She also talks candidly about the back injury that reshaped her spring training, what pulling butterfly for weeks accidentally unlocked in her stroke, and why the weight room, power cleans and snatches and all, became the single biggest change in her career. Todd digs into the recovery side too: sleep, nasal strips, and the surgery she's putting off until she's done swimming.

Along the way, the conversation goes places most swim interviews don't: speaking Mandarin at a middle school assembly in China, Google Translating with Japanese swimmers in the back of an Uber in Paris, the city she'd move to tomorrow, and a first trip to the ESPYS that put her in the same room as Simone Biles, Ilona Maher, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Eileen Gu. She's honest about feeling out of place there, and about what it means that being famous in swimming is a different thing entirely.

Gretchen also reflects on life after the NCAA: missing the team aspect she built her identity around at UVA, why she now calls Team USA her team, and how she sees herself as a bridge between the veterans and the rookies on a roster building toward LA 2028. It's a conversation two former national teamers are uniquely positioned to have with her.

Whether you're a sprinter chasing your own breakthrough or you just want to know what one of the fastest women in history is actually like, this episode delivers. Watch the episode, then head to the comments and let us know: what's the one question you'd ask Gretchen if you had the mic?
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Note: This conversation was recorded in the days before Pan Pacs and is airing after the meet, so Gretchen's goals and predictions reflect where things stood going in. And an update since we recorded: Katie has had the baby! Mom and baby are both home and healthy.

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