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. At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. 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]. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. Ledecky accepted an athletic scholarship to Stanford University, where she swam for coach Greg Meehan's Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team. During the summers prior to 2012, she swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. Catholic faith anchors swimmer Katie Ledecky - Religion News Service 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. Sports, however, bring a desire for answers, for numbers, for specifics, especially for someone whose accomplishments almost have become disorienting. Im willing to bet she has a V02 max thats better than anybody else on the face of the earth, Robinson said, referring to the maximum amount of oxygen a person uses while exercising. Is she tall for an elite swimmer? 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. Years later, Gemmell read two items on Ledeckys goal card: break the world record in the 800 freestyle by the following summer and swim 8:10 in the event in Rio. At the 750-meter mark, Ledecky was 3.42 seconds ahead of Mireia Belmonte Garca, and 0.31 seconds under world record pace. Even if they are fit and strong like a football player, they cannot swim fast if they do not have the skill to catch the water, Takagi wrote in an email. 883 following. Sims anchored the team to a championship record time of 7:41.45. [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. There were days where I wanted to tap my dad and say, Hey, can I just watch? Gemmell said. 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. Katie Ledecky Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age With four golds, Ledecky expanded her career World Championships medal haul to 22, passing Natalie Coughlin for most for a female swimmer. 'It's unheard of': How Katie Ledecky excels as both an endurance and Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. 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. Follow. The next morning, Ledecky struggled through her preliminary heat of the 1500-meter freestyle despite qualifying first for the event's final. Shes kind of a freak athlete. [107], On day 4, June 16, she won both the 200m and 1500m freestyle finals in the evening. Some said it would never happen. [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. But the time was almost five seconds off Ledeckys world record set in Rio. We dont talk about it. [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. [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). Her face was red. Katie Ledecky is the most decorated of female swimmer in history with six individual Olympic gold medals and 14 individual long course world titles to date. Ledecky, who could reach only 21 inches a few years earlier, reached a personal-best 39 inches. Shes swimming in full dude territory, he said. Having already set 11 world records, she is a favorite to win at the Rio Olympics in the women's 200-, 400- and. [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. [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. At the 2016 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Ledecky won the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyles to qualify for her second Olympic team. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. That night, Ledecky lowered the record again, setting the first world record ever at the new Gold Coast Aquatic Center with a time of 3:58.37. Ledecky won easily in 4 minutes 1.27 seconds, the 43rd-fastest swim ever by a woman. During the 201617 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. Two days later, she recorded a time of 1:54.88 en route to winning the 200-meter freestyle. 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. Swimming the third leg, Ledecky passed Australia and Canada to take the lead with the third-fastest split in history (1:53.67). Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 seconds. 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. In her third, and first relay event of her international career, the 4200-meter freestyle, Ledecky and teammates Shannon Vreeland, Karlee Bispo, and Missy Franklin won gold in 7:45.14. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. [42] Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. Katie Ledecky owns her time - The Stanford Daily 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. Coaches, teammates and competitors point to her powerful stroke, legendary training sessions, unusual blend of speed and endurance, and tenacity that is otherworldly. She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final. She keeps logbooks chronicling most of her practices dating to 2011. Ledecky concluded the meet with a win in the 800-meter freestyle, her fifth-straight title in the event across Olympics and World Championships. A lot of people have the tendency to want to protect themselves in their training, Sweetser said. The section also will be available for purchase at latimes.com/store. Bay Area Olympians: Stanford-bound Katie Ledecky writing her own Ve svtovm baznu d nctilet kometa s eskmi koeny", "New York City City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995", "The code to Katie Ledecky's goals in Rio", "Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky says her Catholic faith helps her 'put things in perspective', U.S. Olympic swimming trials: Katie Ledecky, 15, earns surprising berth, Katie Ledecky finishes high school career with Olympics, more world records in sight, Katie Ledecky commits to Stanford swimming, "Photo ReleaseHuntington Ingalls Industries Celebrates Ceremonial Steel-Cut for Aircraft Carrier Enterprise (CVN 80) at Newport News Shipbuilding", "Katie Ledecky couldn't pursue Olympic medals in 2020. 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. [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. There were many times where she was walking up for practice and I think, Thats the best female athlete in the world? Id just kind of chuckle to myself because theres nothing that said that.. 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. Ledecky trailed Quadarella into the final wall. Ledecky made her first splash in international swimming after her freshman year at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in . On the final day of competition, she reset her world record in the 800-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 8:06.68. Her win was made even more impressive by the fact that, per her Team USA . 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. There are technical explanations: her aerobic system using oxygen with extraordinary efficiency, while her anaerobic system generates explosive bursts of energy. On the meet's third day, Ledecky's 20th birthday, Ledecky recorded a personal-best time of 1:40.36 in the 200-yard freestyle to edge Manuel and tie Louisville sophomore Mallory Comerford for the title. Theres a decades worth of underwater video too. Michael Phelps, the 28-time Olympic medalist, called Ledecky the greatest female swimmer of our time.. [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. Theres no special sauce. Were offering L.A. Times subscribers first access to our best journalism. [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. [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. [88] Ledecky did not compete at any other events during 2020. [51] At the conclusion of the week, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet. With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event. ", "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. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. But everybody feels that.. [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. I promise this isnt because Im getting my butt kicked.. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 19 world championship gold medals, the most in history for a female swimmer. We want to know what transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? In the inaugural season of the International Swimming League, Ledecky represented DC Trident. 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. But her career is also a two-way conversation. Katie Ledecky Wins Her 1st Gold In Tokyo, Reflects On The - NPR In Bethesda, she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. The time: 55.66 seconds. [132][133] Additionally, Ledecky signed on to be a volunteer swim coach for the Florida Gators. The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky. With three individual titles, Ledecky became the first swimmer to win the 200, 400 and 800 m freestyle at the same Olympics since Debbie Meyer did so in 1968 in Mexico City. Ledecky has plenty, starting with the hip turn and core that provide much of her power. 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. 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. 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. Ledecky began the World Championships by winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle in a time of 3:59.13, a new championship record and almost four seconds ahead of her closest competitor. And perhaps thats the greatest mystery of all. [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. Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. 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. It might be easy to brush off the prediction as a fluke, but chance doesnt play much of a role when Ledecky is involved. He describes them as holy cannoli swims that would leave almost anyone elses jaw on the floor. The words were matter-of-fact, delivered without a trace of pretense. He can count on one hand the number of times she was floored by a workout. She won three individual gold medals at the 2013 World Championships,. That continued when Ledecky arrived at Stanford as a freshman in 2016. 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.. 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. I really havent had too many of those over the past couple months, so thats a good thing.. 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. 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. 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. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. She doesnt have Phelps attention-grabbing build that included an 80-inch wingspan and size-14 feet that seemed to double as flippers. What transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? 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. Katie Ledecky competes in the womens 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. Her six individual gold medals are the most of any female Olympic swimmer and female US Olympian, and the second-most of all Olympic swimmers behind Michael Phelps. About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. 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. In keeping with Ledeckys low-key personality, the goals stayed between them. 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. While Michael Phelps and his fighter-jet wingspan already have passed history by with a record 22 medals . 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. 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. 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. 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. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. [65] In the meet's final event, Ledecky joined Manuel, Neal, and Hu to swim the second leg of Stanford's 400-yard freestyle relay. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. She got her degree instead", "What's Next For Super Olympian Katie Ledecky? 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.