Is she tall for an elite swimmer? The five-time Olympic gold medalist owns world records in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyles. [105][106] Later the same day in the evening semifinals for the 200 meter freestyle, Ledecky finished first with a time of 1:55.83. Maybe the history Ledecky is making is as remarkable as how shes doing it. 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. "I fought tooth and nail," Ledecky said. At the National Championships, she finished first in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, and second in the 200-meter freestyle. What I found over time what she was great at, though, was her desire to get better. 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. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39. Katie Grimes, who at 15 finished second in the 1,500-meter freestyle during the swim trials, said, "Maybe I can be just like Katie [Ledecky] one day," after her trials performance. If any single item is responsible for her transformation, the grueling sessions away from television cameras and autograph-seeking fans might be it. The 1,500? Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. In the final, Ledecky went out hard and, by the 200-meter mark, she had already established an almost body-length lead. Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 seconds. 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]. 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]. 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. She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36, the fourth-fastest time ever recorded. She won the first-ever women's 1500 . She won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races. This is really impressive. Shes kind of a freak athlete, said Lee Sommers, an athletic trainer in Bethesda, Md., who helped prepare Ledecky for Rio. [29] In the final, Ledecky stunned the field, winning gold by more than four seconds, with a time of 8:14.63, the then second-fastest effort of all time just behind Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10 set in 2008. Katie Ledecky shifts her training base to University of Florida ahead of Paris 2024. 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. 578k Followers, 883 Following, 422 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky) katieledecky. "[18], During the championships' closing ceremonies, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet.[43]. [15] She was raised Catholic. Katie Ledecky was born on March 17, 1997 in Washington, D.C. (via Britannica).One of her most memorable childhood moments was captured on camera, and she shared it with her Twitter followers in . Thats why Bruce Gemmell quips that Ledecky would be content to race in a cardboard box. This is a completely different kind of race, 30 laps of endurance that is part of the womens Olympic program in Tokyo for the first time. 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. She became the first swimmer to win a distance event three times in a row, as well as the youngest and oldest person to win the 800 free (at age 15 in 2012 and age 24 in 2021). The 400? [131], Following the Olympic Games on September 22nd, Ledecky announced her intention to train with coach Anthony Nesty at the University of Florida. Ledecky returned to competition three days later to swim the final of the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Ledecky won easily in 4 minutes 1.27 seconds, the 43rd-fastest swim ever by a woman. Winning both? 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. Shes really activating her core and that allows her upper body to connect to her lower body and when you put those two together, it gives her really great timing and great catch, said Elizabeth Nagle, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh who studies aquatic physiology. Her time of 7:57.42 surpassed Mireia Belmonte's mark from 2013.[142]. Theres a decades worth of underwater video too. Thats not new. A combination of protein (like chicken, steak, or salmon) and a carb (like rice, vegetable, or pasta) rounds out her day. [97][98][99][100] This accomplishment was highlighted by various news outlets including NBC Sports, Newsweek, and USA Today. [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. Having already set 11 world records, she is a favorite to win at the Rio Olympics in the women's 200-, 400- and. But can I please just watch? She subsequently announced her withdrawal from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle due to illness.[81]. 'In 2016 she was 16. Ledecky's supremacy is not born of any freakish physiological gifts such as Phelps' enormous wingspan or double jointed ankles. Yuri Suguiyama, her first coach, watched Phelps break Australian Ian Thorpes world record in the 200 freestyle during the world championships in Melbourne. She wasnt great at skills or drills we would try and teach her. 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. Is she tall for the average person? [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. Were offering L.A. Times subscribers first access to our best journalism. 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. [87] Ledecky withdrew from the 800-meter freestyle race due to illness. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Yes. 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. [27] At 15 years, 4 months, and 10 days, she was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.[28]. She took silver in her first race of the Games, and then missed out on medaling in the 200 . 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. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4200-meter freestyle. During the summers prior to 2012, she swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. The Australian, who beat Ledecky to 400m freestyle gold on Monday, also took victory in Wednesday's 200m freestyle final, with Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey in second and Canada's Penny Olesiak. More recently, in the 1,500 at the Olympic trials, again, except . At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. [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. The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan said. Her body measurement is 34-24-35 inches. A post shared by Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky). During the 201617 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University. And perhaps thats the greatest mystery of all. 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. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. A seven-time Olympic gold medalist and record-breaking swimmer, 24-year-old Katie Ledecky is one of the most decorated Olympic athletes from the Tokyo games. Follow. Her 3:57.36 on Sunday was the second-fastest she . 'Gallop' or a 'giddy-up' Once the swimmers emerge from below the surface and. TOKYO Katie Ledecky has won her first gold of the Tokyo Olympics, in the 1,500 meter freestyle race. The girl couldnt make it across the pool. Thats key to her success. [76], Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc. on June 8, 2018. She met both. 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 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]. Some of the boys said, Jon, get her out of our lanes. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. She won three individual gold medals at the 2013 World Championships,. They cant quantify this, but believe she hangs onto more water than other swimmers. The next day, Ledecky lowered her meet record, winning the 800-meter freestyle final by nearly 10 seconds (8:10.32). Ledecky recorded a split of 52.64 in the heats. 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. [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. That continued when Ledecky arrived at Stanford as a freshman in 2016. [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. [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. On the fourth day of competition, Ledecky tied for silver in the 200-meter freestyle (with Emma McKeon), finishing behind Federica Pellegrini with a time of 1:55.18. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. [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. 422 posts. 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. With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event. [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. 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. Sometimes she faded. [8], Ledecky was born in Washington, D.C.[1] and raised in the suburb of Bethesda, Maryland,[9] the daughter of Mary Gen (Hagan) and David Ledecky. But she addressed it and moved forward. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. Maybe there isnt a secret. [138], Ledecky joined Claire Weinstein, Leah Smith, and Bella Sims on the U.S. 4x200 freestyle relay on day five. The time that would be a career-making moment for almost any other swimmer surprised her. Katie Ledekcy won two golds and two silvers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. When she started working with Gemmell in 2012, she could not . At the 750-meter mark, Ledecky was 3.42 seconds ahead of Mireia Belmonte Garca, and 0.31 seconds under world record pace. She was swimming like most classic female distance swimmers, Suguiyama later told the American Swimming Coaches Assn. They were called watch times.. Theres no special sauce. The time: 55.66 seconds. 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. [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. And theyre ultimately suggestions straining to answer a larger question. A lot of people have the tendency to want to protect themselves in their training, Sweetser said. Shes swimming faster than we are, said Urbanchek, coach to 44 Olympians and an assistant on six Olympic teams. What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. [32] The hard-fought race saw Ledecky overcome Dane Lotte Friis in the final few hundred meters after losing the lead at the 300-meter mark and included a final 50 split of 29.47. 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 . Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. [115][116] The following day in the final, Ledecky won with a time of 8:14.62 and qualified to swim the 800 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the United States.[117][118]. 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. [46], On the third day of competition during the morning session, Ledecky swam in the heats of the 200-meter freestyle and qualified first with a time of 1:55.82. Nature versus nurture? 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. [42] Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. The section also will be available for purchase at latimes.com/store. What happened took everyone by surprise. 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. She got her degree instead", "What's Next For Super Olympian Katie Ledecky? An iron will? A week after she obliterated the 1500m short-course record, Katie Ledecky broke another - this time in the 800m as she stormed to victory at the FINA World Cup in Indianapolis.. 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]. [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. 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. [51] At the conclusion of the week, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet. 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. 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. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) At . Katie Ledecky. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship. Her face was red. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. Ledecky won freestyle golds as a 16-year-old in the 2013 World Championships in the 400m, 800m, 1,500m and the 4x200m, following her first place in the 800m in London 2012. Four years later, she left Rio de Janeiro as the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Olympic Games, with four gold medals, one silver medal, and two world records. 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 is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time.[5][6]. She was just doing what Jon was saying.. [11][12][13][14] Ledecky's mother is of Irish descent. Twice each week, she trained against long-distance swimmers Liam Egan and True Sweetser. Shes swimming in full dude territory, he said. [62] On the meet's final day, Ledecky joined Manuel, Neal, and Janet Hu to break the NCAA and American record in the 400-yard freestyle relay. 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 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. Ledecky has plenty, starting with the hip turn and core that provide much of her power. 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. Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. She broke the existing mark by five seconds. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records. She has no long torso, no wide wingspan . In Bethesda, she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. But she shows gratitude and appreciation and keeps people coming back to get their heads kicked in.. Katie wants to win by the most massive margin possible, but I dont think she wants to break anyones soul like Michael Jordan did. She doesnt have an unusually long torso or long arms or large hands. [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. [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. Notably, in the semifinals the day prior, Ledecky recorded the top time in the semifinals with a time of 1:54.69. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. [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 team lowered its previous record with a time of 3:07.61, securing a 526.5366 decision over runner-up California-Berkeley, the largest championship margin of victory since 2003. At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Ledecky led all swimmers with three individual titles, winning golds in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle. 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. [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. 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.
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