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The next day, Ledecky anchored for Team USA in the women's 4x200 freestyle relay, winning a silver medal alongside teammates Allison Schmitt, Paige Madden, and Katie McLaughlin behind China. [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. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. 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. [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). Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition. [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. In the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky set her third world record of the year by breaking Federica Pellegrini's 2009 world record of 3:59.15 with a time of 3:58.86. Katie Ledecky reacts after winning her heat in the Womens 200 Freestyle during the second wave of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on June 15 in Omaha, Neb. 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. Her Czech-born paternal grandfather Jaromr Ledecky arrived in New York City on September 8, 1947, as a student,[10] later becoming an economist, and married an Ashkenazi Jewish woman named Berta Ruth Greenwald (Ledecky's paternal grandmother) in Brooklyn on December 30, 1956, and through her Ledecky has relatives who were killed in the Holocaust in Europe. Much like the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky let Lotte Friis lead most of the race, making a move at the 650-meter mark to eventually win the race by 2.46 seconds. She also took bronze in the 200-meter freestyle and silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle. Katie Ledecky heads to Tokyo Olympics - The Washington Post [57] Ledecky's final medal total (four golds, one silver) is the most decorated single-Olympics performance by a U.S. female athlete in terms of gold medals, topping Missy Franklin (2012; four golds, 1 bronze), Simone Biles (2016; four golds, 1 bronze), and Amy Van Dyken (1996; four golds). With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event. Ledecky's split was the fastest of all swimmers in the relay finals. But her career is also a two-way conversation. Ledecky almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 8:11.35. Katie Ledecky joining Florida Gators as volunteer swimming coach - ESPN.com She has an uncanny ability to remain herself, not flinch in the face of scrutiny and focus on the task at hand. So did Phelps asymmetrical stroke thats known as galloping or loping and is common among high-level men. During the summers prior to 2012, she swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. At the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors with four American records as Stanford won its first conference title in four years. He thought the she was sizing him up as another opponent to defeat. This was Ledecky's first international loss in a final in individual event. [91], As part of the NBC evening telecast for day one of the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic Trials (postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Ledecky was featured in an interview discussing Stanford University's commencement, finishing her college degree, and training for the Olympic Trials. She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final. 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. Her face was red. Aussie Terminator takes out Katie Ledecky in first Olympics matchup 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. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. Then theres the sheer efficiency of how her body works. [139], On day 7, Ledecky won her final event by over 10 seconds, recording a time of 8:08.04 in the 800-meter freestyle. She got her degree instead", "What's Next For Super Olympian Katie Ledecky? 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 Washington athlete is also holds the 800m and 1500m freestyle world records, and owns 18 of the 20 fastest 1500m freestyle times ever. [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. Ledecky's swim was the seventh-fastest performance in history. Allyson Felix is determined to make the U.S. Olympic track and field team for the upcoming Tokyo Games as she looks to add to her legacy in the sport. One key is obsessive attention to detail. In her first event in Barcelona, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky became a world champion for the first time by winning in 3:59.82, setting a new American record and becoming the second-fastest performer of all time in the event.[31]. Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. She won the first-ever women's 1500 . Shes just doing it better than everybody else.. Theres a decades worth of underwater video too. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. [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. [64] On the meet's final day, Ledecky set an NCAA record in the 1000-yard freestyle (9:06.90) en route to a championship record in the 1650-yard freestyle (15:07.70), defeating runner-up Smith by 21.19 seconds and lapping all other competitors. How Katie Ledecky became better at swimming than anyone is at anything [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. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. At the 2013 US National Championships, Ledecky qualified to swim in four individual events and the 4200-meter freestyle relay at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, though she later dropped the 200-meter freestyle from her program. In the 1650-yard freestyle, Ledecky re-set her NCAA record in the 1000-yard free with a split of 9:05.89 en route to winning by more than 28 seconds. In that race, with the exception of the first 100 and final 50 meters, every 50-meter split was between 30.22 and 30.85 seconds. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. [53], Her first individual event was the 400-meter freestyle. Its just her commitment and desire for getting better.. Do not let it pass over you., Subscribers get early access to this story. [76], Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc. on June 8, 2018. Even elite womens swimmers at the Olympics arent able to pull off that kind of stroke.. But everybody feels that.. Dwyer topped out at 40 inches. [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. 578K followers. (Photo: JIM SHORIN/isiphotos.com, Graphic: KATRINA LIOU/The Stanford Daily) By Inyoung Choi. [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. Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. Take the 400 freestyle final at the trials. She qualified in the heats with an Olympic record, 8:12.86, and set a world record in the finals of 8:04.79, over 11 seconds faster than the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin. She won three individual gold medals at the 2013 World Championships,. In the 400-yard individual medley, Ledecky broke Katinka Hossz's all-time record by one-hundredth of a second, finishing in 3:56.53. 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. In her fourth and last event, the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky won gold in a world record of 8:13.86, bettering Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10. She won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. [88] Ledecky did not compete at any other events during 2020. The most impressive thing for me is blocking out the noise and not feeling the pressure., Urbanchek put it bluntly: Nothing distracts her., Theres no special sauce. Ledecky, who has broken the 4-minute barrier in the distance 20 times, thought she had been faster. (Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press) Michael Phelps, the 28-time. [30] In addition, she broke Janet Evans' American record of 8:16.22 that had stood since 1989. A swimmer needs ample strength for this approach to work. 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. Katie Ledecky studied at Stanford University. Catholic faith anchors swimmer Katie Ledecky - Religion News Service Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. During the 201718 NCAA season, Ledecky set another three NCAA records and two American records while helping lead Stanford to its second straight team title. About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. 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. Trust me, Gemmell said. [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. And not even appearing winded? [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). 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. [58] Ledecky was also the 2nd most decorated Olympian at the 2016 games behind Michael Phelps (5 golds, 1 silver).[59]. 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. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. 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. When Titmus first turned up to training with Boxall she was 16 seconds off Ledecky in the 400m, but slowly started to chip away and after a year she had halved the gap. Ledecky's six individual gold medals at the Olympics, 14 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and 22 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in women's swimming. 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. Dinner. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. If I have a bad practice, I dont let it get to me, Ledecky said. [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. Ledecky has also received the following awards:[143], Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 16:58, Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year, College Sports Information Directors of America, Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, FINA Best Swimming Performance of the Year, List of Olympic medalists in swimming (women), List of top Olympic gold medalists in swimming, List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (women), List of individual gold medalists in swimming at the Olympics and World Aquatics Championships (women), World record progression 400 metres freestyle, World record progression 800 metres freestyle, World record progression 1500 metres freestyle, Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016, "Katie Ledecky Turns Pro After Dominating College Swimming", "How Katie Ledecky Became the Greatest Distance Swimmer of All Time", "The debate about Washington's greatest athlete is over: it's Katie Ledecky", "Ledecky Johns Elite Company With Third Straight Title in 800 Freestlye", Katie Ledecky wins Female Athlete of the Olympic Games, "New York City Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957", "Back to her roots: How Katie Ledecky became so dominant in the pool", "Gold medalist swimmer inspired by her Jewish history", "Pozor, vlny. I dont think she had a clue how fast she was going. It was two big kicks and bilateral breathing. In between London and Rio, Ledecky quietly became the world's most dominant swimmer no longer just a distance specialist. [119] Ledecky began her racing in the prelims of the 400 meter freestyle, ranking first overall with her time of 4:00.45 and advancing to the final. In the final, she won the gold medal with a world record time of 3:56.46nearly two seconds faster than her previous record from 2014 and almost 5 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin. 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. At the 2014 US National Championships, the qualifying meet for both the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 2015 World Aquatics Championships, Ledecky finished first in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle. The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan said. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky on training in a backyard pool and - CNN Ledecky was a USA Olympic team member in 2012, 2016, and 2020, and holds the female record for most individual gold medals (14) and overall gold medals (19) at the World Aquatics Championships. 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. 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). 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]. 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. [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. What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. 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. Swimmer Katie Ledecky inspired to 'put a smile on someone's face' as Michael Phelps, the 28-time Olympic medalist, called Ledecky the greatest female swimmer of our time.. Born in Maryland in 1997, Katie Ledecky began swimming competitively at age six. [15] She was raised Catholic. At the Ohio State Invitational in November 2016, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open marks in the women's 500-yard freestyle and 1650-yard freestyle.[60]. Ledecky concluded the championships with another gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, winning by a margin of 21.11-seconds (15:38.97). But she addressed it and moved forward. Each month, she sends practice video to Russell Mark, a former rocket scientist who is USA Swimmings national team performance manager. Sometimes that happens. Theres no special sauce. Katie wants to win by the most massive margin possible, but I dont think she wants to break anyones soul like Michael Jordan did. 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. May 4, 2020, 8:23 p.m. Five days after she turned 23, Katie Ledecky '20 . "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 sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. About 18 months before the London Olympics, Suguiyama suggested that Ledecky adopt the gallop. Two days later, she recorded a time of 1:54.88 en route to winning the 200-meter freestyle. She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36, the fourth-fastest time ever recorded. The history-making has become so common, so many would-be competitors left so far behind, that expectations, just like the pictures, are larger than life. [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. [50] Earlier in the meet, she set world-leading times in the 200- and 400-meter freestyles and a U.S.-leading time in the 100-meter freestyle. Trust me. Fifty-two percent of SwimSwam.com readers voted Ledecky the top swimmer of the decade, ahead of Michael Phelps. Still recovering from illness, Ledecky qualified second the next day for the final of the 800-meter freestyle. I think she loves the training more than she loves competing, Michael said. Ledecky's fastest time in the 400 freestyle is the world record time, 3:56.46, set in her gold medal-winning performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. Ledecky passed Quadarella and pulled away in the final 50 meters to win by 1.41 seconds. Thats key to her success. [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. 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). 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. [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. He can count on one hand the number of times she was floored by a workout. Competing in both events is rare enough. [66], Following the season, Ledecky became the first freshman in 35 years to receive the Honda Cup, which recognizes the nation's top female collegiate athlete.[67]. 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. Four years later, she was a record holder and medal. [74] She signed with Wasserman sports agent Dan Levy for representation.[75].