Kate Douglass has leveraged data analytics as a student-athlete at Virginia to optimize her performance for the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Photo by Al Bello / Getty Images)
Media Center Corbin McGuire
Virginia swimmer merges data analytics with elite training to shatter records ahead of Paris Games
Kate Douglass' time at Virginia has uniquely prepared her for what could be a breakout performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is true on several levels, including one directly tied to her bachelor's degree in statistics, which she finished in 2023, as well as the master's degree in the same field she's working on.
A 15-time NCAA champion in individual and relay events, Douglass has worked with Ken Ono, a renowned mathematician and professor at Virginia, to apply statistical analysis to improve her swimming techniques. This innovative approach has paid off with faster times in every event and helped her earn spots at the Paris Olympics in the 200-meter breaststroke and 200-meter individual medley, as well as on the 4x100-meter relay team that claimed silver Saturday and set an American record. Douglass co-authored an academic paper, "Swimming in Data," which detailed how these techniques helped her refine her breaststroke, resulting in breaking a 12-year-old American record in the 200-meter breaststroke.
"Data analytics has kind of started to become big around swimming," Douglass said. "We use an accelerometer device that wraps around our waist when we're swimming, and it can test our acceleration, whether we're accelerating or decelerating in certain spots of our stroke."
Douglass, a two-time Olympian and one of the most decorated NCAA swimmers ever, has thrived in both the pool and the classroom, thanks to the supportive and competitive environment in Charlottesville.
"I think kind of being a part of the team culture, and just having older girls to look up to in practice, definitely helped me figure out how to reach my full potential in practice," Douglass said. "It took kind of my teammates and coaches in college to get me out of my comfort zone and realize that feeling uncomfortable in practice was how you got better."
Douglass' collegiate career has been nothing short of stellar.
Her freshman year was marked by an impressive performance at the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference championships, where she won five conference titles. Although the 2020 NCAA championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Douglass' sophom*ore year was historic. She set Virginia records in five different events and won an individual title in the 50-yard free at the 2021 NCAA championships, helping the Cavaliers claim their first NCAA team trophy.
"Every time we've come together as a team and won a national championship, it was a really awesome moment. I definitely think the first one was the most special because COVID was my first year and it was a hard year for all of us," she said. "So that first national championship was really for all those fourth-year girls who didn't get a chance to do it. It felt really good to do it for them."
Douglass followed it up with what she described as a surprise in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics in the 200-meter individual medley. She went on to win a bronze medal. Both moments were pivotal in her career.
"Going into Tokyo, I wasn't really prepared to make the team. I didn't really know what was going to happen," she said. "I definitely think going to Tokyo helped boost my confidence"
Returning to Virginia, Douglass continued to dominate. At the 2022 NCAA championships, she became the first swimmer—male or female—to win individual races in three different strokes (50-yard free, 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard breaststroke). In 2023, she added three more individual titles, with Virginia winning relays both years, bringing her total to seven individual and relay titles in each of her last two NCAA championships. Her victories helped propel the Cavaliers to NCAA team titles in both 2022 and 2023.
Her success continued on the world stage, too. In the past three world championships, Douglass won 14 medals. Douglass attributes much of her success to her teammates and the challenging environment at Virginia, specifically noting Ella Nelson and Maddie Donohoe's impact.
"I definitely think the girls in my class have been super instrumental most of my career," Douglass said. "We kind of just went through everything together."
Douglass has continued to train at Virginia under Cavalier head coach Todd DeSorbo, who is also the U.S. Olympic women's swimming coach. Part of what kept her at Virginia is the balanced approach to life it offers. She said the joy she's found in both her academic and athletic endeavors has been vital for her mental well-being.
"Outside of swimming, I really just enjoy being a UVA student and embracing the culture of the University of Virginia," she said. "On days when I don't have practice, it's nice to kind of just walk to class and walk around the grounds and just kind of take in how beautiful it is, and just pretend I'm a normal college student for once."
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