Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. 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. ", "Katie Ledecky is top qualifier in 400-meter freestyle", "Olympics 2021: Day 3 schedule, what to watch, results from Tokyo as Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky get started", "Ariarne Titmus vs Katie Ledecky - Watch Titmus Win Gold in the Women's 400m Freestyle Final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic", "Ledecky's Silver Medal Finish Still An Incredible Achievement", "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap", "Katie Ledecky earns Olympic record, silver medal in busy day", "Watch: Ledecky Wins Both 200/1500 FR Heats, Douglass Wins 200 IM Prelims Heat", "2012 Olympic champion Allison Schmitt misses out on 200m freestyle final in Tokyo", "Katie Ledecky qualifies for 200m final, will face Titmus", "Katie Ledecky wins gold medal in 1,500 freestyle at Tokyo Olympics, US teammate Erica Sullivan takes silver", "Katie Ledecky 'let it go' in anchor leg of 4x200 relay, securing silver", "Katie Ledecky makes history with 6th individual gold, cements Olympic icon status, and she'll be back in 2024", "Olympic Champion Katie Ledecky Heads To Florida To Train Under Anthony Nesty", "The Week That Was: Katie Ledecky Announces Move to Gainesville, ISL Regular Season Concludes", "Katie Ledecky joining Florida Gators as volunteer swimming coach", "Ledecky stretches 22-medal record at worlds with 800 title", "Ledecky, Marchand Named FINA Swimmers of the Meet", "Katie Ledecky Pulls Away from Field to Retake 400 Free World Title", "Ledecky extends record medal haul at swimming worlds to 21", "Katie Ledecky Breaks 1500 Free World Record by 10 Seconds; Gets 800 AR En Route", "Katie Ledecky Breaks Second World Record In A Week", "Stanford Swimming Standout Katie Ledecky Wins Honda Cup; Named Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year", "Swimming World December 2021 Presents 2021 World Swimmers of the Year: Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon", "SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Women's #10 #1", "SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Women's #10-1", "TIME Honors Distance Star Katie Ledecky As One Of Its Top 100 Influential People", "Katie Ledecky Claims Record-Tying Fifth USA Swimming Athlete of the Year Honor", "Stanford swimmer Katie Ledecky wins Honda Cup", "Katie Ledecky wins top academic honor among all Division I athletes", "ESPY Awards 2022: Katie Ledecky Wins Best Female Athlete Award", Katie Ledecky Stone Ridge School student-athlete profile, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katie_Ledecky&oldid=1140336672, 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships , USA Swimming Athlete of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, USA Swimming Performance of the Year Award: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, Golden Goggle Female Race of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, Golden Goggle Breakout Performer of the Year: 2012, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 16:58. 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. God? 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.. OMAHA As she prepared for her first Olympics nine years ago, a 15-year-old Katie Ledecky carried hopes and dreams into the London Games. Shes kind of a freak athlete. [90], On Thursday May 20, 2021, at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite Ledecky won the long course 100 meter freestyle final by one one-hundredth of a second in a time of 53.82 with second place going to Simone Manuel. [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 stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. 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. In the final, she joined Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil, and Dana Vollmer and recorded a split of 52.79, helping the team earn a silver medal (behind Australia) with a time of 3:31.89, a new national record for the United States. She won gold in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter freestyles in Tokyo, as well as silver medals in the 400-meter and 4x200-meter freestyle events. [83], Ledecky collected several end-of-decade honors. 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. With her pair of swims in the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky took control of the top 11 fastest times in the event's history. She is Unmarried. 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. The process trumped everything. Ledecky's time was the sixth-fastest ever (behind only her own performances) and over 7 seconds faster than her winning time at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Katie Ledecky owns her time. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. [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. At the Texas A&M Invitational in November 2017, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open mark in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:03.31. 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. She won the first-ever women's 1500 . [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. Just over an hour later, Ledecky took third in the 200-meter freestyle (1:55.15), finishing behind Canada's Taylor Ruck (1:54.44) and Japan's Rikako Ikee (1:54.85). What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. Since NCAA rules keep mens and womens swim teams that dont use the same coach from practicing together, Ledecky used lane 12 and Sweetser lane 11. 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. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. On the first day of competition, Ledecky led Australian Ariarne Titmus into the final wall of the 400-meter freestyle final before fading to second. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. The stories pile up. 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. Rio Olympics: Katie Ledecky dominating in run-up to Games View Photos Bethesda teen will swim four events in Rio. I think I do a pretty good job of sticking to those and not seeing what kinds of medal counts or times that people are throwing out about what I could accomplish if everything goes perfectly.. Follow. [108][109][110] Ledecky swam a 15:40.50 in the 1500 meter freestyle, lowering her Championship Record from the day before and becoming the first winner of the women's 1500 meter freestyle at the US Olympic Trials. During their next training session, he recalled, she said, Weve got to get our 40. She did. Following Suguiyama's departure to coach for the University of California, Berkeley, she continued to train with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Bruce Gemmell through the 2016 Olympics. 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. 'Gallop' or a 'giddy-up' Once the swimmers emerge from below the surface and. I promise this isnt because Im getting my butt kicked.. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. A swimmer needs ample strength for this approach to work. Were content to enjoy the gift. Theres a decades worth of underwater video too. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Ledecky qualified to swim in the final of the 800-meter freestyle by placing third overall in the heats with a time of 8:23.84. Ledecky won easily in 4 minutes 1.27 seconds, the 43rd-fastest swim ever by a woman. But the more coaches and trainers and competitors grasp for answers, the more the reality comes into focus. The 1,500? [74] She signed with Wasserman sports agent Dan Levy for representation.[75]. [77], In July 2018, at the US National Swimming Championships, Ledecky qualified for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships by finishing first in the 200-,[78] 400-, and 800-meter freestyle.[79]. Ledecky trailed Quadarella into the final wall. [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. [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. Ledecky, who could reach only 21 inches a few years earlier, reached a personal-best 39 inches. You just watch the force that she pulls with and its way, way different., Laguna Beachs Nyjah Huston brings a fierce commitment to training to a rebellious sport, making the skateboarder a star to watch in the Tokyo Olympics. Katie Ledecky competes in the women's 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. 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]. Its a mindset that different to go out as fast as you can without being blatantly reckless.. After earning a berth on the U.S. Olympic team at age 15, she set an American record in the 800-meter freestyle to. Ledecky finished her high-school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except the 100-meter breaststroke. [72], At the NCAA Championships, Ledecky won the 500 and 1650-yard freestyle events by record margins and anchored the winning 800-yard freestyle relay team of Katie Drabot, Brooke Forde, and Ella Eastin. She subsequently announced her withdrawal from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle due to illness.[81]. On the third day, Ledecky defeated Titmus wire-to-wire in the 400-meter freestyle.[80]. Ledecky made her first splash in international swimming after her freshman year at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in . She wasnt a great puller. Ledecky is a 10-time Olympic medalist with seven golds. The swimmer wowed the world in 2012 when she competed in her first Olympics at just 15 and won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle competition. When Ledecky isn't training, she doesn't stray much from her . Four years later, she was a record holder and medal. She has the 24 fastest swims of all time. Still recovering from illness, Ledecky qualified second the next day for the final of the 800-meter freestyle. [55], Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. In a video posted on social media last summer, Ledecky placed a glass of chocolate milk on her head, then swam the length of the pool. 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 . There were days where I wanted to tap my dad and say, Hey, can I just watch? Gemmell said. [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. He can count on one hand the number of times she was floored by a workout. At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Ledecky won two gold medals and two silver medals, making her the most decorated U.S. female athlete for a second straight Summer Olympics. While Michael Phelps and his fighter-jet wingspan already have passed history by with a record 22 medals . Ledecky breaking an arm in fourth grade, but jumping back into the pool with a cast. 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. She has an uncanny ability to remain herself, not flinch in the face of scrutiny and focus on the task at hand. Ledecky provided the US with an early lead, swimming the first leg in a personal best of 1:56.32. Yes. 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. 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. Thank you for your support. Ledecky opened the Trials with a win and meet record in the 400-meter freestyle (3:58.98). [84] Readers of The London Evening Standard voted Ledecky the International Sportswoman of the Decade. [63] The next day, she lowered her own record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:24.06, beating the second-fastest performer of all-time, Leah Smith, by nearly five seconds. (Photo: JIM SHORIN/isiphotos.com, Graphic: KATRINA LIOU/The Stanford Daily) By Inyoung Choi. Trust me, Gemmell said. 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. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. 883 following. Eighteen years later, Katie Ledecky is the worlds most dominant freestyle swimmer. What happened took everyone by surprise. [73], A week following Stanford's championship win, Ledecky announced at the National Press Club that she will forego her final two seasons of NCAA eligibility in order to accept professional endorsement and sponsorship opportunities. Thats why Bruce Gemmell quips that Ledecky would be content to race in a cardboard box. 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. Born in Maryland in 1997, Katie Ledecky began swimming competitively at age six. Ledeckys world records in the 800 freestyle and 1,500 freestyle are 1.95% faster than the second-best women. 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. But her career is also a two-way conversation. [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. [122] Ledecky's time of 3:57.36 was the second-fastest time of her career and fourth-fastest in history. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. [76], Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc. on June 8, 2018. Joined with Mallory Comerford, Kelsi Worrell, and Simone Manuel, Ledecky recorded a split of 53.83, helping the team win gold with a time of 3:31.72, a new national record for the United States. During the 201617 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time.[5][6]. Most of the time she didnt. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. Sometimes she faded. 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). Katie Ledecky competes in the womens 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. She won three individual gold medals at the 2013 World Championships,. 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. Ledecky was also named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2022, international female Champion of Champions by L'quipe in 2014 and 2017, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2017, Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2017, and the ESPY Best Female Athlete in 2022. [127][128] In the finals of these two events, Ledecky failed to reach the podium for the 200 m freestyle, placing 5th behind Titmus, Haughey, Oleksiak, and Yang, but placed 1st in the 1500 m race, leading teammate Erica Sullivan (silver) by 4 seconds, clinching her first gold medal of the Games. How fast would Torri Huske, the 18-year-old phenom headed to Stanford this fall, swim in the 100 butterfly final? [134], At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Ledecky won all four of her events: the 400 meter freestyle, 1500 meter freestyle, 4x200 freestyle relay, and 800-meter freestyle. [126] She swam a 1:55.34 in the semifinals of the 200 meter freestyle and advanced to the final ranking third overall. [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. The time that would be a career-making moment for almost any other swimmer surprised her. 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. At the National Championships, she finished first in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, and second in the 200-meter freestyle. At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. 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. ", "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!
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