In the debut of the women's 1500 meter freestyle at the Summer Olympics, Ledecky set an Olympic record in her heat with a time of 15:35.35 and advanced to the final ranked first overall. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. Competing in both events is rare enough. [39], In the 200-meter freestyle final, Ledecky had over a half-second lead on the field at the halfway point before winning by 1.46 seconds with a meet record time of 1:55.74. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ledecky also emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete and became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads. On July 1, Ledecky broke Janet Evans's 28-year-old national championship record in the morning preliminary heats of the 800-meter freestyle (8:10.91) before placing seventh that evening in the 100-meter freestyle (53.99). [140], On October 28, during the Toronto round of the FINA Swimming World Cup, Ledecky swam the 1500m short course event for the first time. [27] At 15 years, 4 months, and 10 days, she was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.[28]. Thats whats allowing her to get such a good grab of the water and have such good force generation per stroke.. Somehow she makes this look easy. Ledecky competes against herself (1:59) U.S. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky talks to Hannah Storm about how she got started swimming, how she set goals for herself when she was young and how the . [108] These two swims secured her spots on the US Olympic Team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 1500 meter freestyle and 200 meter freestyle individual events as well as the 4x200 meter freestyle relay. The collision of hand and water is one piece of a complex, fast-paced puzzle in which the grab and breathing and body rotation and head position and kick and proper body alignment and arms cutting into the pool at the precise angle must work in concert. [4], Ledecky began swimming at the age of six due to the influence of her older brother, Michael, and her mother, who swam for the University of New Mexico. In winning the 400 through 1500-meter titles, she became the second woman ever to win the events in a World Championships since German Hannah Stockbauer in 2003. Ledecky trailed Quadarella into the final wall. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. She won the first-ever women's 1500 . She certainly is.. Its a remarkable combination, particularly for someone to be that dominant for so long, which takes so much commitment, while at the same time being so nice and polite and kind., Matt Barbini, USA Swimmings national team performance director. Ledecky uses a short left stroke, followed by a long right one, while breathing on her right side every other stroke, and repeating the pattern. The usual gap for a world record is as thin as an Olympic medal. "I fought tooth and nail," Ledecky said. In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. (RNS) Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. What happened took everyone by surprise. General swimmers tend to think that if they can just get their arms around faster and kick their legs faster, they can swim faster. [18], During the summer of 2012, she trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club (formerly the Curl Burke Swim Club) under coach Yuri Suguiyama. Before the London Olympics, Ledecky trained at the U.S. teams camp in Knoxville, Tenn., with a small group of middle- and long-distance swimmers under legendary coach Jon Urbanchek. [48], In her only event on the fourth day of competition, the 200-meter freestyle, Ledecky won her third gold medal of the meet, winning in a time of 1:55.16. What transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4200-meter freestyle. We dont talk about it. Katie Ledecky competes in the womens 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. Most of the time she didnt. On the first day of competition, Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle with a championship-record time of 8:09.13, topping runner-up Ariarne Titmus of Australia by 7.94 seconds. "Katie Ledecky is the student that takes 20 credits a semester at Harvard and gets a 4.0 every semester -- and nobody likes that person," said Elizabeth Beisel, a 2012 Olympic silver and bronze . Ledecky won easily in 4 minutes 1.27 seconds, the 43rd-fastest swim ever by a woman. At the Olympic trials last month, Greg Meehan, Ledeckys coach who leads the Stanford womens swimming program and the womens Olympic team, asked for a prediction. Im willing to bet she has a V02 max thats better than anybody else on the face of the earth, Robinson said, referring to the maximum amount of oxygen a person uses while exercising. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. [23], At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska (her first senior national competition), Ledecky made the Olympic team by placing first in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:19.78, which was over two seconds ahead of second-place finisher Kate Ziegler. Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. [124][125] In the same prelims session as the 1500 meter freestyle, Ledecky ranked first in the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:55.28 and advanced to the event's semifinals. That night, Ledecky lowered the record again, setting the first world record ever at the new Gold Coast Aquatic Center with a time of 3:58.37. May 4, 2020, 8:23 p.m. Five days after she turned 23, Katie Ledecky '20 . [122] Ledecky's time of 3:57.36 was the second-fastest time of her career and fourth-fastest in history. Inside the 24-year-old Katie Ledecky's decision to leave Stanford and join elite training partners and a new coach in Anthony Nesty at the University of Florida, ahead of Paris 2024. With her mark in the 400, Ledecky became the first female since Janet Evans to hold world records simultaneously in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles. They were called watch times.. Her body measurement is 34-24-35 inches. Her 400-meter split was 4:04.34, a personal best for Ledecky in that distance, and would have placed fifth in the individual 400-meter freestyle. Verified. Shes just doing it better than everybody else., Bruce Gemmell, Katie Ledeckys coach at the Nations Capital Swim Club, Some of this immunity to pressure comes from her knack to set goals, internalize them, then turn them into reality. Her face was red. With her pair of swims in the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky took control of the top 11 fastest times in the event's history. Ledecky's supremacy is not born of any freakish physiological gifts such as Phelps' enormous wingspan or double jointed ankles. 883 following. [86], Ledecky began 2020 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, Iowa, where she won the 200-, 400- and 1500-meter freestyle races. (Pan Pacific Championships Results), Stanford-bound swimmer Katie Ledecky sets world record, Katie Ledecky Wins 800 in Record Time, Completing World Championships Sweep, Katie Ledecky Making Sub-4:00 Look Pedestrian With Meet Record to Defend 400 Free Title at 2015 FINA World Championships, Katie Ledecky Breaks World Record, Almost by Accident, "16th FINA World Championships Women's 1500 metre freestyle (final)", "16th FINA World Championships Women's 200 metre freestyle (semifinals)", Katie Ledecky expands world dominance with 200 freestyle title, Katie Ledecky does it again, breaks world record in 800 free, Katie Ledecky Now Owns the 10 Fastest 800 Free Times Ever, Ledecky, Phelps Named Swimmers of the Meet, "Katie Ledecky Wins Gold in 400-Meter Freestyle", "Katie Ledecky Smashes World Record in the 800-Meter Freestyle", "Katie Ledecky Defends 800m Free Title To Win 4th Gold in Rio", "Ledecky Wins 1650 By A Minute, Breaks American, NCAA Records At OSU", "Ledecky Scorches NCAA, American Records With 4:25.15 500 Free", "Katie Ledecky Beaten by Simone Manuel, Still Sets Two Personal Bests", "A Louisville Swimmer Managed To Tie Katie Ledecky in an NCAA Championship Race", "Ledecky Laps All But One Swimmer To Win NCAA Title", "Stanford Wins First NCAA Swimming and Diving Title Since 1998", "Katie Ledecky Wins 400m Freestyle Gold Medal at World Aquatics Championships", "Katie Ledecky, USA Win 4x100m Free Relay at 2017 World Aquatics Championships", "Ledecky's Dozen: Passes Missy For Most World Champs Golds In History", "Ledecky Drops 15:03, Clips American Record", "KATIE LEDECKY SMASHES 400 IM AMERICAN RECORD, TOPS NCAA RECORD IN 3:56.5", https://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/swimdive_d1_2018_final_results.pdf%7Ctitle=2018, "Katie Ledecky Signs with Wasserman Agent Dan Levy", "If you thought Katie Ledecky was done shattering world records, you were sorely mistaken", "Katie Ledecky signs with TYR, her first endorsement deal since turning pro", "Men Don't Move, but Ledecky Takes Women's Lead in PSS Standings", "Ledecky cruises to easy win in 800 free at US Nationals", "Katie Ledecky wins 400m free at Pan Pacs, but she has company", "Ledecky withdraws from 2 events at worlds due to illness", "Natalie Coughlin to Return to Competition with the DC Trident", "Katie Ledecky wins by 30 seconds, takes back No. Is it her training? She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36, the fourth-fastest time ever recorded. Shes just doing it better than everybody else.. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. Even elite womens swimmers at the Olympics arent able to pull off that kind of stroke.. He can count on one hand the number of times she was floored by a workout. National Team Director Frank Busch described Ledecky's 1500 performance as "the most impressive race I have ever seen, and I've been in the sport for 50 years. She's blazing a completely different trail than anyone who has come before. The top 11 times. [20], In December 2020, she completed the required courses for a bachelor of arts in psychology and minor in political science from Stanford University, [21][22] and graduated in June 2021. She met both. Genetics? About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. They realized the goals, lofty as they might seem for a teenager, were too pedestrian. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. The same all-out approach Ledecky brought to the final 25 meters of the 200 freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics she edged Swedens Sarah Sjostrom by .35 seconds for gold despite feeling queasy happens regularly in practice with nothing at stake other than numbers on a clock. She won 10 Olympic medals, 7 of which were gold. [71], Following another undefeated dual meet season, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second straight year at the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, sweeping the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard freestyle. She has no long torso, no wide. 1 ranking", "SwimSwam Pulse: 52.4% Pick Ledecky As Swimmer of the 2010s", "Lewis Hamilton voted Best British Sports Star of the Decade as Djokovic, Ledecky and Kuneida also triumph", "Serena Williams aces AP athlete of the decade honors", "Katie Ledecky, after being slowed by illness, showcases her speed", "2020 PSS - Des Moines: Ledecky Scratches 800 Free on Day 4", "With eyes on Tokyo, Katie Ledecky returns to find out what a difference a year makes", "Katie Ledecky wins all four of her events, Simone Manuel takes 50-meter crown at TYR Pro Swim Series", "Meet Results: Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite 5/20/2021 - 5/23/2021", "Katie Ledecky vs. herself: How a backyard pool and unrelenting drive has the U.S. swimmer on the brink of Olympic history", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap", "Katie Ledecky's first opportunity to make Tokyo Olympic team has arrived in 400m freestyle", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 400m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Finals Live Recap", "Tickets Punched: Katie Ledecky and Torri Huske are Tokyo Bound", "U.S. Olympic Trials: Katie Ledecky Swims 4:01.27 to Qualify for Third Olympics; Paige Madden Pulls Away for Second", "Katie Ledecky relieved to check the box after qualifying for third Olympics", "Katie Ledecky vs Ariarne Titmus Rivalry Emerges in 400m Freestyle Before Tokyo", "Katie Ledecky makes US Olympic team with win in women's 400-meter freestyle", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic trials Wave II: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Semifinals Results Summary", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "Katie Ledecky, after chats with legends, wins two races in one night at Olympic Swimming Trials", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 4 Finals Live Recap", "For Katie Ledecky, the long and short of it is first place in both the 1,500 and 200 freestyle", "Katie Ledecky shows dominance, poise at U.S. Olympics swim trials", "Katie Ledecky wins 1500m free 70 minutes after 200m at US Olympic Trials", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 800m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 800m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 7 Finals Live Recap", "Which athletes have won the most Olympic medals in Tokyo 2020? She is the daughter of David Ledecky and Mary Gen Ledecky. She had a smile that seemed bigger than her diminutive frame, swim cap pulled over her ears and enthusiastic post-race analyses captured on home movies. On the third day, Ledecky defeated Titmus wire-to-wire in the 400-meter freestyle.[80]. At the 2013 World Championships, Ledecky won gold in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle, and in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, and set two world records. [92] Because training facilities were closed during the pandemic, Ledecky and her colleague Simone Manuel trained for the Olympics in a 25-yard private pool in Atherton, in the backyard of masters swimmer Tod Spieker. ", "The graduate: What Katie Ledecky learned at Stanford and how it might make her faster", "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) Women's 800-metre freestyle (final)", "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) Women's 400-metre freestyle (final)", "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) Women's 200 metre freestyle (semifinals)", U.S. Olympic swimming trials: Katie Ledecky breaks Janet Evans's 400 freestyle age group record, "Swimming at the 2012 London Summer Games: Women's 800 metres freestyle round one", "Swimming at the 2012 London Summer Games: Women's 800 metres freestyle final", "Katie Ledecky wins 400 freestyle at world championships", "Katie Ledecky smashes 1500m freestyle world record for a golden double", "15th FINA World Championships Women's 4x200m Freestyle", "Bethesda's Katie Ledecky sets world record in 800-meter freestyle, wins fourth gold medal of world championships", "Driving test looming for Ledecky after Barcelona splash", Janet Evans sees parallels with Katie Ledecky, Katie Ledecky Sets World Record in 1,500-Meter Freestyle, Pan Pacific Championships, Results: Katie Ledecky Trounces Pan Pacs Record in 200 Free, Katie Ledecky Smashes 400 Free World Record, Nearly Clears 3:58! The next day, Ledecky anchored the United States team of Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. She has an unnatural sense of what will happen in the pool call it swimming intelligence thats as impressive to witness as it is difficult to quantify. Katie Ledecky. To no surprise, Ledecky, who first broke the world record in the event in 2013, recorded the worlds top time in the event this year on the way to another victory. [45], In the heats of the 1500-meter freestyle on the second day of competition, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:27.71. Then it did. Were offering L.A. Times subscribers first access to our best journalism. On the fourth day of the Olympic trials, for example, she won the 200 freestyle by a full body length after pulling away in the final 50 meters. There were many times where she was walking up for practice and I think, Thats the best female athlete in the world? Id just kind of chuckle to myself because theres nothing that said that.. That shows a mastery. [83], Ledecky collected several end-of-decade honors. On the first day of the meet, Ledecky anchored the 800-yard freestyle relay with a 1:40.28 split to break the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with Lia Neal, Katie Drabot, and Ella Eastin. [94][95] The 400 meter freestyle was the first race on Ledecky's schedule where she had the opportunity to make the 2020 USA Olympic Team. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. 3x U.S. Olympic Swimmer (2012, 2016, 2021) 7x Olympic Gold Medalist 19x World Champion Stanford grad #TeamTYR - Katie@teamwass.com. Maybe there isnt a secret. While every distance swimmer grinds through thousands of monotonous yards each week, these sessions are somehow different for Ledecky. The process trumped everything. Katie Ledecky hugs Erica Sullivan after winning the womens 1500 freestyle during the second wave of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. Ledecky sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4200-meter freestyle. And Katie's got tiny feet, too. She doesnt have a central governor like most athletes do, that mind-to-muscle idea that I need to shut down right now. Theres nothing you can throw at her that she cant convince herself that she can do., Lee Sommers, an athletic trainer in Bethesda, Md., who helped prepare Ledecky for Rio. Her time of 7:57.42 surpassed Mireia Belmonte's mark from 2013.[142]. Ledecky swam the second half of the race faster than the first, completing the final 800 meters in 8:14.11faster than any other woman has completed a regular 800-meter race in a textile suit. [54], Ledecky won a second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a personal best of 1:53.73, beating Sarah Sjstrm by 0.35 seconds. With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event. In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won the gold medal in the women's 800-metre freestyle. Shes always trying to maximize her performance so theres nothing left in the tank. Notably, in the semifinals the day prior, Ledecky recorded the top time in the semifinals with a time of 1:54.69. The five-time Olympic gold medalist owns world records in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyles. The goals were adjusted to pursue times that felt a little scary, a little unreasonable, more than a little exciting: 3:56 in the 400 freestyle and 8:05 in the 800 freestyle. She also swam in the 100-meter freestyle heats. Is she tall for an elite swimmer? [82], For the seventh-straight year, Ledecky finished the year with the top times in the world in both the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle (8:10.70 and 15:35.98). After earning a berth on the U.S. Olympic team at age 15, she set an American record in the 800-meter freestyle to. At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Ledecky battled illness and withdrew from two events before winning her fourth-straight World Championship title in the 800-meter freestyle. When Ledecky isn't training, she doesn't stray much from her . Follow. [93], On the second day, June 14, 2021, Ledecky competed in the prelims of the 400 meter freestyle in the morning, swimming a 4:03.07, ranking 1st out of all prelims heats, and advancing to the final in the evening. Yuri Suguiyama, her first coach, watched Phelps break Australian Ian Thorpes world record in the 200 freestyle during the world championships in Melbourne. With this win being Ledecky's twelfth World Championship gold medal, Ledecky passed Missy Franklin for the most gold medals won by a female swimmer in long course World Championships history.[70]. The next day, Ledecky added her third meet record by swimming on the American 4200-meter freestyle relay team with Shannon Vreeland, Missy Franklin, and Leah Smith. In the final, Ledecky went out hard and, by the 200-meter mark, she had already established an almost body-length lead. Relief seemed to be the main emotion that sunk into Katie Ledecky's face as she touched the wall to claim her first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics.. Ledecky's victory in the 1500m freestyle . Katie Ledecky studied at Stanford University. Matt Barbini, USA Swimmings national team performance director, recalled the feeling after Ledeckys surprise victory in the 800 at the London Olympics in 2012 introduced the little-known teenager to the world. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. In keeping with Ledeckys low-key personality, the goals stayed between them. She has an uncanny ability to remain herself, not flinch in the face of scrutiny and focus on the task at hand. The victories, the records, the head-shaking performances in which her only competition is the clock, are so frequent that they seem as routine as her unassuming comments after each race with history. When Bruce Gemmell took over as Ledeckys coach at the Nations Capital Swim Club in late 2012, his young charge had an Olympic gold medal, but couldnt do a pullup. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle (both long course and short course) as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course). While Michael Phelps and his fighter-jet wingspan already have passed history by with a record 22 medals . Entering the water with a 2.88-second deficit, Ledecky swam the fourth-fastest relay split in history (1:53.84), nearly overtaking Australian Madeline Groves, who touched 0.25 seconds ahead of Ledecky to set a new championship and national record.
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