But the more coaches and trainers and competitors grasp for answers, the more the reality comes into focus. Follow. 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. Twelve of the top 14 times. [38], At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke two world records. (RNS) Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan said. 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. Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. [17] During her high-school swimming career, Ledecky twice set the American and US Open record in the 500-yard freestyle, and she twice set the national high-school record in the 200-yard freestyle. Katie Ledecky isn't just an Olympian; she's one of the most gifted athletes in the world. [120][121] However, she finished second to Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus to win the silver medal, trailing Titmus by half a second after leading at the 300m mark. Ledecky made her debut as a professional swimmer on May 16, 2018, at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she beat her old world record in the 1500-meter freestyle, setting a new world record of 15:20.48. 'In 2016 she was 16. [25][26] Her third-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle was the fastest time ever swum by a 15- to 16-year-old American. The Americans (Simone Manuel, Ledecky, Melanie Margalis and Katie McLaughlin) set a new American record and swam under the existing world record with a time of 7:41.87, yet placed second to the Australian team (7:41.50). Shes swimming in full dude territory, he said. Katie Ledecky, left, finishes the womens 400-meter freestyle final far ahead of silver medal winner Leah Smith, right, during the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on July 23, 2017. 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. 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. 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. Thats amazing.. Twice each week, she trained against long-distance swimmers Liam Egan and True Sweetser. Trust me. 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. She certainly is.. She met both. [41], On the meet's final day, Ledecky set her fifth world record of the year, lowering her record in the 1500-meter freestyle by nearly six seconds with a time of 15:28.36. Her gold was the first international medal of her career, earning her the 2012 Best Female Performance of the Year and Breakout Performer of the Year at the Golden Goggle Awards. (Photo: JIM SHORIN/isiphotos.com, Graphic: KATRINA LIOU/The Stanford Daily) By Inyoung Choi. Theres a lot of noise, said Janet Evans, the four-time Olympic gold medalist who is considered one of the greatest distance swimmers in history and now works as the chief athlete officer for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Committee. In the evening session, Ledecky faced a tough double with the 1500-meter freestyle final and the semi-finals of the 200-meter freestyle shortly after. She has an uncanny ability to remain herself, not flinch in the face of scrutiny and focus on the task at hand. The words were matter-of-fact, delivered without a trace of pretense. [53], Her first individual event was the 400-meter freestyle. Katie Ledecky is the only female American competitive swimmer who owns most medals and holds the record in 400, 800, and 1500-meter freestyles, 500, 1000, and 1650-yard freestyle events. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. That performance burned into the coachs memory. I promise this isnt because Im getting my butt kicked.. Thats not new. Even elite womens swimmers at the Olympics arent able to pull off that kind of stroke.. Katie Ledekcy won two golds and two silvers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship. She won 10 Olympic medals, 7 of which were gold. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. Having already set 11 world records, she is a favorite to win at the Rio Olympics in the women's 200-, 400- and. Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. [84] Readers of The London Evening Standard voted Ledecky the International Sportswoman of the Decade. [137], Ledecky won the 1500-meter freestyle two days later in a time of 15:30.15, over 14 seconds faster than runner-up and teammate Katie Grimes. Two days later, she recorded a time of 1:54.88 en route to winning the 200-meter freestyle. In Bethesda, she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. No detail is too small. It might be easy to brush off the prediction as a fluke, but chance doesnt play much of a role when Ledecky is involved. Katie Ledecky is doing what Katie Ledecky does! the public address announcer shouted last month as she completed another convincing victory during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials in Omaha, Neb. Katie Ledecky, byname of Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky, (born March 17, 1997, Washington, D.C., U.S.), American swimmer who was one of the sport's dominant freestylers in the early 21st century, breaking numerous records. She won three individual gold medals at the 2013 World Championships,. [126] She swam a 1:55.34 in the semifinals of the 200 meter freestyle and advanced to the final ranking third overall. Ledecky opened the Trials with a win and meet record in the 400-meter freestyle (3:58.98). In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky. She didnt hesitate to start faster than they expected and maintain the aggressive pace. Theres a lot more pressure when youre 24 and going to the Olympics for your third Games as a heavy favorite versus being 15 and going to the Olympics with barely anyone knowing your name. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. On the final day of competition, she reset her world record in the 800-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 8:06.68. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39. While Michael Phelps and his fighter-jet wingspan already have passed history by with a record 22 medals . Sims anchored the team to a championship record time of 7:41.45. 883 following. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. She has recognition of these things in the middle of a race and can make an adjustment. Katie Ledecky. Do not let it pass over you., Subscribers get early access to this story. She won a fourth gold in her final individual event, the 800-meter freestyle. On the third day of the meet, Ledecky set her fourth meet record in the 400-meter freestyle prelim heats with a time of 4:03.09. After a year of uncertainty brought on by postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, top U.S. swimmers are ready for some familiarity at the U.S. swim trials. Each month, she sends practice video to Russell Mark, a former rocket scientist who is USA Swimmings national team performance manager. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. Shes doing what everybody else does. She has the 24 fastest swims of all time. Shes doing what everybody else does. A combination of protein (like chicken, steak, or salmon) and a carb (like rice, vegetable, or pasta) rounds out her day. When reminiscing about her pre-teen years in the pool, she told an athletic trainer that she cared more about perfecting her stroke than about winning. [122] Ledecky's time of 3:57.36 was the second-fastest time of her career and fourth-fastest in history. 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). She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final. [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. Midway through the 25-meter journeys at the Palisades Swim and Tennis Club in Cabin John, Md., shed grab a lane line and catch her breath like so many other 6-year-olds figuring out how to swim. Katie Ledecky studied at Stanford University. That shows a mastery. Her strength-to-body mass ratio is probably in the top 98%.. Despite being in season and swimming multiple events, Ledecky was able to first break the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:34.23,[36] bettering her previous mark of 15:36.53. Andrew Gemmell, the coachs son who competed at the London Olympics in the 1,500 freestyle, trained with Ledecky in the two years leading up to Rio. Ledecky began 2016 at the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin. READ: Katie Ledecky wins by 21 seconds in her first race for a year Having taken a year-long break from competitions amid the pandemic, Ledecky has recently returned to racing and showed few. In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. Michael Phelps, the 28-time Olympic medalist, called Ledecky the greatest female swimmer of our time.. She won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races. Maybe there isnt a secret. [112][113][114], Friday June 18, 2021, the sixth day of competition, Ledecky won with a time of 8:16.61 in the prelims heats of the 800-meter freestyle and advanced to the final. Katie Ledecky reacts after competing in the womens 800-meter freestyle final during the U.S. Olympic trials at CHI Health Center on June 19 in Omaha, Neb. [7] In total, she has won 42 medals (34 golds, 7 silvers, and 1 bronze) in major international competitions, spanning the Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships. He good-naturedly described her competition-like intensity in practice as really annoying. Even years after the sessions, the words carry a mixture of awe and disbelief. Some of the boys said, Jon, get her out of our lanes. Ledecky concluded the championships with another gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, winning by a margin of 21.11-seconds (15:38.97). She has no long torso, no wide wingspan . It cant be easy to go train against Katie when you know youre going to get your head kicked in, said Keenan Robinson, Phelps longtime strength and conditioning coach. "I fought tooth and nail," Ledecky said. 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. On the meet's first day, she recorded the team's fastest split to lower the 800-yard freestyle relay record to 6:45.91 with Manuel, Neal, and Eastin. Ledecky recorded a split of 52.64 in the heats. Dinner. God? Swimming the anchor leg again, Ledecky provided the fastest split of the field (1:53.74) to turn a 0.89-second deficit into a 1.84-second victory, stopping the clock at 7:43.03.[56]. At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. ", "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! During a stint at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in early 2016, Conor Dwyer, a two-time Olympian, engaged in a friendly contest with Ledecky jumping onto flat surfaces at increasing heights. On the third day, Ledecky defeated Titmus wire-to-wire in the 400-meter freestyle.[80]. Before she entered the pool, the United States was trailing both Australia and China, but she swam a time of 1:53.76 to finish the race 0.4 seconds behind the Chinese swimmer Li Bingjie and ahead of Australia, who were the favorites coming into the competition. She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. [83], Ledecky collected several end-of-decade honors. [24] In Omaha, Ledecky also placed third in the 400-meter freestyle (4:05.00) and ninth in the 200-meter freestyle (1:58.66). 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. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. A 58-foot-wide picture of Ledecky adorned the outside of the CHI Health Center in Omaha during the Olympic trials in 2016. She wasnt great at skills or drills we would try and teach her. Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition. An iron will? As a freestyle swimmer, Katie possesses fifteen World gold medals, five Olympic golds, and 14 Pan Pacifics. Shes just doing it better than everybody else.. So did Phelps asymmetrical stroke thats known as galloping or loping and is common among high-level men. 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. Nathan Fenno is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times focused on investigations, features and in-depth stories. Ledecky began the year by breaking her own world records in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle at the 2014 Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational in June. [132][133] Additionally, Ledecky signed on to be a volunteer swim coach for the Florida Gators. Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 seconds. [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. Other than standing 6 feet tall, a couple of inches above the average height for female swimming finalists at the Rio Games, she could blend into a crowd outside of the pool. Im know Im supposed to be doing this too. Yuri Suguiyama, her first coach, watched Phelps break Australian Ian Thorpes world record in the 200 freestyle during the world championships in Melbourne. [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. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records. But Katie Ledecky would rather study it at Stanford once the Rio Games are in the past. This is really impressive. The traits, at least individually, arent uncommon in elite swimmers. [47] Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76.

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