Centennial Sportsplex

When you think of Nashville and women’s sports, you don’t necessarily think of swimming. But Nashville has a surprisingly strong swim community, and they train right here at Centennial Sportsplex. Built in 1990, the Sportsplex is located next to Centennial Park, and this public facility features two ice-rinks, tennis courts, and the Tracy Caulkins Competition Pool. The Sportsplex is also home to the Nashville Aquatic Club (NAC). The pool area is through the doors to your right. In the lobby, walk past the service desk to see an exhibit for Tracy Caulkins—one of the greatest female swimmers in American history.

Tracy started swimming at age 6 and coaches soon realized that she was equally good at all four strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. Caulkins joked that as a kid she preferred backstroke because she “didn’t like getting [her] face wet.” She attended Harpeth Hall, an independent, all-girls school in Nashville and led the swim team to high school state championship titles in 1979, 1980, and 1981. An early beneficiary of Title IX, Caulkins was offered an athletic scholarship to the University of Florida.

Tracy competed in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. In her first event, Caulkins crushed the 400 IM—winning by more than 9 seconds. Five days later she won the 200 IM, setting an Olympic record, and won gold as part of the 400 medley relay. In the late 1980s, Tracy moved to Queensland, Australia with her husband. She remains an advocate for women's sports. She's worked with Billie Jean King and the Women’s Sports Foundation and was named president of Swimming Australia in 2022.

Four decades after Tracy’s swimming career, a new generation of Olympic-level swimmers emerged, Alex and Gretchen Walsh. They joined the Nashville Aquatic Club and trained in the Tracy Caulkins Competition Pool. The sisters also attended Harpeth Hall—where they swam for the high school team, known as the "Bearacudas." At 14-years old, Alex broke two National Age Group Records in the 100 backstroke and the 200 IM. The previous 200 IM record was held by Olympian Missy Franklin. Gretchen also broke 15-16 National Age Group Record in the 50 free and 100 free. In the 50, she became the youngest female to break 22 seconds. In the 100, she broke Olympian Simone Manuel’s record.

After graduation in 2020, Alex joined the swim team at the University of Virginia and Gretchen followed a year later, in 2021. Both swam at the Olympic trials for the 2021 Tokyo Games, and Alex qualified for the 200 IM. Alex won silver—the first Olympic medal in swimming for a Nashvillian since Tracy Caulkins.

Harpeth Hall remains one of the most successful girl's high school swimming programs in Tennessee—with 15 state championships and 2 national championships. Check out their Athletic Hall of Fame webpage to learn more. As the Walsh sisters continue their competitive careers, we are excited to see what the future holds. Now, let’s head to Vanderbilt University!

Exit the parking lot by turning LEFT onto 25th Ave N. Turn LEFT onto Brandau Place then RIGHT onto 24th Ave N. Cross over Elliston Place and turn RIGHT onto West End Ave. At the light, turn LEFT onto Perry Wallace Way/25th Ave N to enter the Vanderbilt University campus. You’ll see Memorial Gym on your right and can park in the small parking lot next to it (just past the Duncan Preparatory School historical marker.) Feel free to walk around as you listen to the next stop.