"Couldn't have gotten luckier to have you as my built-in best friend" - Alex Walsh pens heartfelt birthday message to sister Gretchen Walsh

Alex Walsh penned a heartwarming note for her sister Gretchen Walsh on the Olympic champion's 22nd birthday. The Walsh sisters competed together at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Alex and Gretchen were born less than two years apart and went on to make their Olympic debut three years apart. The elder sister, Alex, competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won a bronze medal in the 200m medley.

The sisters competed together at the Paris Olympics and faced very opposite results. While Alex was left heartbroken after getting her third-place finish reversed due to a disqualification, Gretchen won four including two golds, and dedicated the victory to her sister.

Alex has now penned a heartwarming note for her younger sister's birthday, and shared a series of pictures with her on her Instagram handle, she wrote:

"Birthday festivities are in order for @gretchwalsh2 !!! I couldn’t have gotten luckier to have you as my built-in best friend 💛 Driven, loyal, inspiring, genuine, fast as hell, funny as hell, and just all around my favorite person 💛 ILY."

The sisters were born into a swimming family, with their mother Glynis Walsh a former collegiate swimmer. Gretchen Walsh didn't want to pursue a swimming career to avoid sibling rivalry at the start, but they went on to specialize in different events and avoided the issue.

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"Paris felt like both of our own first Olympics" - Gretchen Walsh

2024 NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships - Gretchen Walsh and Alex Walsh - Source: Getty

Speaking in an interview with Olympics.com, Gretchen Walsh claimed that while she tried to learn from her sister Alex from her experience of the Tokyo Olympics, the Games in Paris felt different as crowds were present.

"I didn't really know what to expect going in. I feel like I tried to learn a little bit from my sister Alex, but Tokyo was so different and so getting to experience it together with her kind of felt like both of our own first Olympics in a way," she said.

The four-time Olympic medalist further cherished her experience of meeting athletes from around the world and claimed it felt like home.

"The Village was great. Seeing all athletes from everywhere around the world, I had a really great experience there. It felt like home," Gretchen Walsh added.

The duo competed together at the 2024 Short Course World Championships, and while the younger sister won a staggering seven gold medals and broke 11 world records, Alex secured six including two gold medals.