Katie Ledecky reacts after competing in the womens 800-meter freestyle final during the U.S. Olympic trials at CHI Health Center on June 19 in Omaha, Neb. It might be easy to brush off the prediction as a fluke, but chance doesnt play much of a role when Ledecky is involved. Ledecky was the defending Olympic champion and world-record holder. Yuri Suguiyama, her first coach, watched Phelps break Australian Ian Thorpes world record in the 200 freestyle during the world championships in Melbourne. Theres a lot more pressure when youre 24 and going to the Olympics for your third Games as a heavy favorite versus being 15 and going to the Olympics with barely anyone knowing your name. Sometimes that happens. Katie Ledecky has a height of 6'0" (1.83 m). The 400? [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). 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. Having already set 11 world records, she is a favorite to win at the Rio Olympics in the women's 200-, 400- and. 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. "I fought tooth and nail," Ledecky said. He can count on one hand the number of times she was floored by a workout. Her win was made even more impressive by the fact that, per her Team USA . Ledecky's split was the fastest of all swimmers in the relay finals. [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. 'Gallop' or a 'giddy-up' Once the swimmers emerge from below the surface and. [88] Ledecky did not compete at any other events during 2020. 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. At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. It was two big kicks and bilateral breathing. ", "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! Theres a decades worth of underwater video too. 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. Her combined 20 individual titles at the Olympics (6) and World Aquatics Championships (14) is also a record for female swimmers. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won the gold medal in the women's 800-metre freestyle. The section also will be available for purchase at latimes.com/store. Ledecky concluded the meet with a win in the 800-meter freestyle, her fifth-straight title in the event across Olympics and World Championships. 3x U.S. Olympic Swimmer (2012, 2016, 2021) 7x Olympic Gold Medalist 19x World Champion Stanford grad #TeamTYR - Katie@teamwass.com. Katie Ledecky shifts her training base to University of Florida ahead of Paris 2024. [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. 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. Stanford earned its second team title in as many years. 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. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4200-meter freestyle. May 4, 2020, 8:23 p.m. Five days after she turned 23, Katie Ledecky '20 . About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. They swam identical workouts. Ledecky qualified in the heats with a time of 3:58.71, an Olympic record. After earning a berth on the U.S. Olympic team at age 15, she set an American record in the 800-meter freestyle to. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. Ledecky concluded the championships with another gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, winning by a margin of 21.11-seconds (15:38.97). At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. I promise this isnt because Im getting my butt kicked.. 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. Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. With four golds, Ledecky expanded her career World Championships medal haul to 22, passing Natalie Coughlin for most for a female swimmer. Are you willing to push yourself beyond all comprehension or are you not? Nagle said. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. She wasnt a great kicker. [109][111] She swam a 1:55.11 in the 200 meter freestyle. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39. [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. And not even appearing winded? 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. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. [19], In December 2016, Ledecky was chosen as one of the sponsors of the US Navy aircraft carrier USSEnterprise alongside gymnast Simone Biles. A post shared by Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky). 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. [52], Ledecky's first event in the 2016 Summer Olympics was the 4100-meter freestyle relay, swimming the anchor leg for the United States in both the prelims and final. Many of the top women in the world also possess great height, as world record-holders Sarah Sjostrom and Katie Ledeckey are both six feet tall (1.83m), while 100 free gold medalists Simone Manuel. 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. 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.. [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 Ariarne Titmus, the 20-year-old sensation nicknamed The Terminator, posted the second-best time in history a day earlier at the Australian trials. She set a time of 15:08.24, breaking the previous world record set by German swimmer Sarah Khler by almost 10 seconds. 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. [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. 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. Ledecky, who has broken the 4-minute barrier in the distance 20 times, thought she had been faster. Its just her commitment and desire for getting better.. 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. The next day, Ledecky lowered her own mark again in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:25.15. Nathan Fenno is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times focused on investigations, features and in-depth stories. 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. All of this feeds Ledeckys ability to do things in the pool that arent normal. The girl couldnt make it across the pool. The usual gap for a world record is as thin as an Olympic medal. Yes. 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.. In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records. And theyre ultimately suggestions straining to answer a larger question. She keeps logbooks chronicling most of her practices dating to 2011. However, elite swimmers focus on how to generate propulsion more efficiently.. [53], Her first individual event was the 400-meter freestyle. Katie Ledecky, byname of Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky, (born March 17, 1997, Washington, D.C., U.S.), American swimmer who was one of the sport's dominant freestylers in the early 21st century, breaking numerous records. 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. Her 3:57.36 on Sunday was the second-fastest she . Her strength-to-body mass ratio is probably in the top 98%.. She has recognition of these things in the middle of a race and can make an adjustment. Im know Im supposed to be doing this too. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. [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. Twelve of the top 14 times. Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. [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. Do not let it pass over you., Subscribers get early access to this story. 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. 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. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. [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.