Fans of Team USA now know what fans of the University of Virginia swimming team have known for years: Kate Douglass is a bona-fide star.
The 15-time NCAA champion with the Cavaliers can now add Olympic gold medalist to her résumé after winning the women’s 200m breaststroke at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Douglass touched in 2:19.24, lowering her own American record and beating Tokyo gold medalist Tatjana Smith (née Schoenmaker) by 0.36 seconds. Tes Schouten of the Netherlands took bronze, while five-time Olympic medalist Lilly King finished 8th in the final individual event of her storied Olympic career.
“I feel like this was a long time coming,” Douglass, 23, told NBC’s Melissa Stark after the race. “I feel like I was physically ready for this race. Just what I’ve done in practice these last few months leading up to this week, I knew if I executed that race well, I would win it.”
It’s a first career Olympic gold for the Pelham, New York native, and her third medal overall. Douglass took bronze in the 200m IM in her Olympic debut in Tokyo, then added silver earlier in Paris as part of the U.S. women’s 4x100m freestyle relay.
Douglass will attempt to double her gold medal tally Saturday when she swims the final of the 200m IM, her last individual event of the Paris Games.
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