After finishing with a bronze medal, Team USA swimmer Alex Walsh was disqualified from the 200-meter individual medley

The swimmer, who finished in third place, was eventually disqualified for turning from the backstroke to the breaststroke improperly.

Alex Walsh, a swimmer for Team USA, won a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but her heart broke when she was disqualified in the women’s 200-meter individual medley.

After finishing third in the race behind American swimmer Kate Douglass and Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, Walsh, 23, was eventually disqualified for making an improper transition from the backstroke to the breaststroke.

Walsh, who placed second in the 200-meter individual medley in the 2021 Tokyo Games, would have received his second medal.

“I was just really heartbroken for her,” 22-year-old Douglass said following the race to media, including PEOPLE. “I feel like she deserved to be on the podium with me.”

Although Douglass hadn’t had a chance to talk with Walsh yet, she expressed her displeasure with the way things transpired.

“When it comes to that, I feel like we have a fair share of mistakes and stuff and I don’t know, it’s just upsetting,” she stated.

Gretchen Walsh, Walsh’s sister and another Team USA competitor, told reporters that she was watching her sibling’s race and that she was in the midst of a warm-down when she learned of the news.

Gretchen remarked, “I was just stopped in the middle of the pool, like so upset,” after winning the mixed 4×100-meter medley. “I don’t really know how to describe it, but yeah, I knew that I was gonna have to move on from that quickly in the moment and give her a big hug, tell her that I’m here for her and then go out and do this in her honor.”

Gretchen won her third gold medal of the Olympics; she had already won two silver in the women’s 100-meter butterfly and women’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay in Paris.

Three years ago, Walsh just missed qualifying for Tokyo, and she previously told up to PEOPLE about the bittersweet experience of making it when Gretchen did not.

She remarked, “It was like a split house: gutted for Gretchen, but happy for me.” “My parents had financial difficulties.”

Gretchen went on to say that despite having different personalities, the two sisters are “best friends” and support one another without conditions.

“We both work very hard and are very dedicated,” Gretchen remarked. “We challenge one another to new levels.”

At the University of Virginia, where both sisters are presently enrolled, Alex is majoring in computer science with a minor in psychology, while Gretchen is majoring in finance with a math minor.

“It’s great to have each other there to talk to,” Alex remarked. We frequently make each other laugh. Therefore, having someone who will make your day better is good.