[19], In December 2016, Ledecky was chosen as one of the sponsors of the US Navy aircraft carrier USSEnterprise alongside gymnast Simone Biles. Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition. 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. 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. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records. 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]. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, convincing victory during the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, U.S. swimming trials bring some clarity for athletes after a year of uncertainty, Skateboard phenom Nyjah Huston, a rising Olympic star, blends in on SoCal streets, Elliott: Allyson Felixs desire to win gold on the Olympic stage continues to shine bright, Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in giant slalom for seventh world title, Bass chief of staff says hell avoid Olympics issues for a year. Ledecky's final 50-meter split of 29.33 was the second-fastest in the field behind Pellegrini's 29.23.[49]. [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. Her strength-to-body mass ratio is probably in the top 98%.. The Washington athlete is also holds the 800m and 1500m freestyle world records, and owns 18 of the 20 fastest 1500m freestyle times ever. In her second event, Ledecky won gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in a world record time of 15:36.53, breaking the record held by compatriot Kate Ziegler by six seconds. They were called watch times.. [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. [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. Katie Ledecky's height is 6 feet tall and her body weight is 73 kilograms. She met both. Katie just dives in headfirst and really forces you to get the most out of practice. She is the daughter of David Ledecky and Mary Gen Ledecky. 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. 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 . She has an uncanny ability to remain herself, not flinch in the face of scrutiny and focus on the task at hand. Yuri Suguiyama, her first coach, watched Phelps break Australian Ian Thorpes world record in the 200 freestyle during the world championships in Melbourne. 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. Ledecky almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 8:11.35. [122] Ledecky's time of 3:57.36 was the second-fastest time of her career and fourth-fastest in history. Still recovering from illness, Ledecky qualified second the next day for the final of the 800-meter freestyle. 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. [136], On the first day of competition, Ledecky won the 400-meter freestyle in a championship record 3:58.15, besting Canadian silver medalist Summer McIntosh by 1.24 seconds. The 400? "She's relatively short (at 5-foot-11) and she doesn't have an excessive wingspan." Nevertheless, Ledecky's arms are long enough to wrap around what could. 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. 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. The next day, Ledecky anchored the United States team of Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. But she addressed it and moved forward. [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 reset her American, NCAA, and U.S. Open records in the 800-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relay and won a meet-best five race titles overall. A swimmer needs ample strength for this approach to work. [126] She swam a 1:55.34 in the semifinals of the 200 meter freestyle and advanced to the final ranking third overall. [87] Ledecky withdrew from the 800-meter freestyle race due to illness. Some days she left him absolutely demolished and approached record paces in the middle of exhausting workouts. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. Eighteen years later, Katie Ledecky is the worlds most dominant freestyle swimmer. Ledecky won easily in 4 minutes 1.27 seconds, the 43rd-fastest swim ever by a woman. Shes not afraid to fail. Ledecky's winning time was over six seconds quicker than American teammate and silver medalist Cierra Runge. But she shows gratitude and appreciation and keeps people coming back to get their heads kicked in.. The usual gap for a world record is as thin as an Olympic medal. More recently, in the 1,500 at the Olympic trials, again, except . [30] In addition, she broke Janet Evans' American record of 8:16.22 that had stood since 1989. But the time was almost five seconds off Ledeckys world record set in Rio. Were content to enjoy the gift. Take the 400 freestyle final at the trials. 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.. 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). 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. 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. In the final, Ledecky went out hard and, by the 200-meter mark, she had already established an almost body-length lead. [130] Ledecky won her second gold medal of the Olympics and her seventh of all time in the 800-meter freestyle. [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. They realized the goals, lofty as they might seem for a teenager, were too pedestrian. . What happened took everyone by surprise. [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]. [55], Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. 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. Then it did. [34], Ledecky scored more points than any other swimmer to earn the FINA trophy for best female swimmer of the meet.[35]. [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. Ledecky was the defending Olympic champion and world-record holder. Katie Ledecky competes in the womens 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. But she acknowledged having the same nerves as any other competitor at the trials and, in all sincerity, said she didnt take making the Tokyo Games for granted. With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event. [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). The 800? Three days later, Ledecky then broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:11.00,[37] bettering her previous mark of 8:13.86. She got her degree instead", "What's Next For Super Olympian Katie Ledecky? Ledecky passed Quadarella and pulled away in the final 50 meters to win by 1.41 seconds. She has the 24 fastest swims of all time. [11][12][13][14] Ledecky's mother is of Irish descent. About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. And Katie's got tiny feet, too. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. Shes swimming faster than we are, said Urbanchek, coach to 44 Olympians and an assistant on six Olympic teams. Each month, she sends practice video to Russell Mark, a former rocket scientist who is USA Swimmings national team performance manager. 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. If any single item is responsible for her transformation, the grueling sessions away from television cameras and autograph-seeking fans might be it. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4200-meter freestyle. But Katie Ledecky would rather study it at Stanford once the Rio Games are in the past. Follow. They cant quantify this, but believe she hangs onto more water than other swimmers. 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 has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. [84] Readers of The London Evening Standard voted Ledecky the International Sportswoman of the Decade. The quiet 15-year-old usually kept up with the men, who noticed fearlessness and poise that belied her youth. Ledecky's success has earned her Swimming World's Female World Swimmer of the Year a record-breaking five times. Gemmell warned other men in the training camp to be ready for Ledecky to beat them. [104] Two events later, she swam a 15:43.10 in the 1500 meter freestyle prelims, ranking as the fastest swimmer of prelims heat, advancing to the final, and setting a new Championship Record over four seconds faster than the previous record she set in 2013. 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. [101][102][103], In the morning of day three, Ledecky swam a 1:57.58 in the 200 meter freestyle prelims, ranking second fastest of all heats. [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. 883 following. [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. She wasnt a great kicker. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post) At . 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. 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 . 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. 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. Thats not new. We dont talk about it. One key is obsessive attention to detail. [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. The five-time Olympic gold medalist owns world records in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyles. 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. [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. The time: 55.66 seconds. The stories pile up. I really havent had too many of those over the past couple months, so thats a good thing.. At the academic year's conclusion, the College Sports Information Directors of America named Ledecky the Division I Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for her athletic and academic achievements. Critics arent satisfied, Olympic snowboarders accuse USOPC, national federation of sex trafficking in lawsuit, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier take pairs gold at U.S. What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. [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. [27] At 15 years, 4 months, and 10 days, she was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.[28]. 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 wants to win by the most massive margin possible, but I dont think she wants to break anyones soul like Michael Jordan did, Barbini said. No. [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). [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. For lengthy races like the 1,500 meters, this must remain constant for more than 15 minutes. God? At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine. 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. If I have a bad practice, I dont let it get to me, Ledecky said. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4200-meter 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. [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. 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. Instead, Ledecky has a gift that defies measurement. 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. 578K followers. Its a mindset that different to go out as fast as you can without being blatantly reckless.. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:55.64 and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:45.37. Ledecky's split was the fastest of all swimmers in the relay finals. The biggest question when she knifes through the water usually isnt whether shes going to touch the wall first, but how many body lengths shell be in front of the second-place finisher. Shes always trying to maximize her performance so theres nothing left in the tank. [15] She was raised Catholic. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. The swim was the fifth-fastest in history and earned Ledecky the 28 fastest times in the distance. 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. Shes doing what everybody else does. Trust me, Gemmell said. As a freestyle swimmer, Katie possesses fifteen World gold medals, five Olympic golds, and 14 Pan Pacifics. While every distance swimmer grinds through thousands of monotonous yards each week, these sessions are somehow different for Ledecky. [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. I dont think she had a clue how fast she was going. She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final. They review the video together, as much for what he notices as her feedback. But the more coaches and trainers and competitors grasp for answers, the more the reality comes into focus. Before Ledecky, Sommers had never trained a swimmer, so he approached her like other athletes reliant on overhead motion, focusing on core strength, shoulder stability, injury prevention, plus explosiveness in short distances. The traits, at least individually, arent uncommon in elite swimmers. 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. Dinner. 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. [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). Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky erased a 1.2-second deficit going into the final leg of the race, passing Australia's Melanie Schlanger with a 1:54.36 split over the final 200 meters. And Ariarne Titmus, the 20-year-old sensation nicknamed The Terminator, posted the second-best time in history a day earlier at the Australian trials. [129] She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the prelim round still holds. 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]. Even elite womens swimmers at the Olympics arent able to pull off that kind of stroke.. TOKYO Katie Ledecky has won her first gold of the Tokyo Olympics, in the 1,500 meter freestyle race. May 4, 2020, 8:23 p.m. Five days after she turned 23, Katie Ledecky '20 . Notably, in the semifinals the day prior, Ledecky recorded the top time in the semifinals with a time of 1:54.69.

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