As Torri Huske and Gretchen Walsh stood atop the Olympic podium together, singing the words and watching the flag rise. Then they ran along the pool deck in Paris clad in medals with the flag flying and the jubilant smiles, their rivalry would never be the same.
It started as two kids from different parts of the country, facing off a couple times a year in junior national championships in a plethora of events, then changed dramatically when they attended the two biggest women’s college powerhouses on opposite coasts.
They had been on national teams together before, but in Paris their bond changed and grew in that moment together with the flag with their giddy faces shining for the world to see.
This is the best rivalry in swimming, perhaps the best women’s swimming rivalry among compatriots in the history of the sport.
They have had showdowns at the highest level of competition for six years and are perhaps just halfway through their careers – approaching their peaks just as the Olympic spotlight returns to the U.S. in 2028.
It started in 2019, but the moment that the world experienced how spectacular a true friendly rivalry can be was on the podium in Paris.
Huske had won Olympic gold in the 100 butterfly with Walsh, who broke the world record in the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, taking the silver. When the national anthem began, Huske pulled Walsh up to the top of the podium with her and the two sang together, embracing and soaking the moment in.
Then, they raised their arms together, hand in hand, and took their jubilant victory lap with each holding a side of the flag together.
It was a series of moments neither will ever forget.
“That was just so fun. We got to hold the flag together. It was just so much fun celebrating with your teammate,” Huske said. “I got a lot of questions about inviting Gretchen up to the top of the podium (for the anthem). It is both of your national anthem, and it is a shared moment. We were both representing our country and we both deserved to be there listening to the anthem together on top of the podium.”
View this post on Instagram
It was a moment of triumph for both of them. But in most instances, one of their triumphs can be the other’s pain.
But somehow, as friends, they have been able to manage to be happy for each other. That comes with the shared experiences of winning and losing on the biggest stage year after year, event after event – going head-to-head in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, 200 free (some much more than others) – over the years.
They are headed to the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore after their performance at the U.S. National Championships in Indianapolis. Huske won the 100 freestyle in a meet and U.S. Open record 52.43, ahead of Walsh (52.78). Walsh then won the 100 butterfly in a meet-record 54.76 to beat Huske (56.61) and the 50 free in an American record 23.91 just ahead of Huske (23.98).
They split up a little as Huske made the 800 free relay by finishing third in the 200 free and Walsh won the 50 butterfly, but most of their moments, as always, were together.
“We have been on the biggest stages together,” Walsh said. “We have experienced our highs and our lows together. Having that kind of bond has really helped us. Knowing you have someone in the lane next to you that has really experienced the same thing is very comforting. It is really good for meets like worlds. I know I am going to appreciate swimming next to her because I know that we are competing for the same reason and striving for the same goal. I am going to support her and she is going to support me. It is a cool friendship that we have formed since 2019, our first team together. It is fun how it has evolved and the success we have both had in the sport is truly amazing.”
And in a lot of ways, it is just getting started.
But is started when they were big-time recruits, competing at national meets before both making the worlds team in 2019.
“We were both top recruits in our class. We met in Budapest in 2019. Our events have kept going back and forth. We have been swimming the same events and our places switch, which is really cool. Gretchen is so nice. She is very social and very good with connecting with people on the team and including everyone. She is a very easy person to talk to and be friends with. You want her to succeed,” Torri Huske said. “We have definitely grown closer over the years. We have always been rivals in the pool but we are also friends. That has always stayed the same.”
It was the same in 2019.
Then it was the same when Huske chose to attend Stanford and Walsh went to Virginia. They have gone head-to-head several times at NCAA Championship meets, with Walsh earning a few more wins in the short-course, both individually and team.
But Huske had her moments as well, winning a couple of special 800 free relay titles and claiming the 200 IM last year.
“It is cool that we competed for different colleges and we are friends. We are teammates in the context of this country,” Gretchen Walsh said.
In long course, they have been even closer.
Huske broke the American record in the 100 butterfly at the 2021 Olympic Trials, only to have Walsh break it three times in the past two years, including setting the world record. But in between those swims, it was Huske who won the individual gold in the butterfly.
It is a rivalry that has truly gone back-and-forth in the big moments, similarly to Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte.
We just haven’t seen that on the women’s side from two swimmers from the same country for this long of a time in so many events. We had some great races between Katie Ledecky and Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in the 200 and 400 freestyle, though those are Titmus’ best races and Ledecky’s third- and fourth-best event. Canadian teen Summer McIntosh has crashed that party as well.
But the Huske-Walsh rivalry is multiple events – and the best events for both swimmers. It has been magnificent both in the short course (which Phelps-Lochte never had) and long course.
“Part of the reason we bring out the best in each other is because we know the other is going to be on,” Torri Huske said. “We can’t afford to be off. Gretchen is always on, every race, even during the season. I feel like I am more of a rise-to-the-occasion swimmer when the stakes are higher. But the stakes are always higher with her. It gets me really excited to race her. She brings out the best in me every time. Competition drives greatness.”
They have both achieved greatness in the sport, winning Olympic gold, world championship gold, NCAA titles and more. And whenever that happened – they were both right there together.
“I think it is cool,” Walsh said. “Me and Torri definitely have a very different approach when it comes to pre-race rituals. In the ready room we have different vibes. Behind the blocks we have different vibes. I feel like we have really gotten to understand each other in that way. I know that she needs space and she knows that I would appreciate a little fist bump here and there.”
They know each other so well now, that they are mature enough to share each other’s triumph but also be able to empathize with each other’s pain. That is a rare thing in a rivalry.
And again, the rivalry might not be at its peak yet.
Huske and Walsh are Olympic champions and two of the more recognized faces of Team USA.
That will be the case at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the next step of the rivalry.
“Most of us are pretty established veterans but are still pretty young (with the exception of Katie Ledecky and Lilly King, who I remember watching on TV as a kid and looked up to them),” Huske said. “The next wave of us, we have been around for so long but are still young. That is very promising for the future.
“I feel like we have a lot more to give to the sport and that is very exciting.”
Exciting for the rivalry and for the sport.