Its a mindset that different to go out as fast as you can without being blatantly reckless.. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. 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. [108][109][110] Ledecky swam a 15:40.50 in the 1500 meter freestyle, lowering her Championship Record from the day before and becoming the first winner of the women's 1500 meter freestyle at the US Olympic Trials. 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. During the summers prior to 2012, she swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. [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]. The time: 55.66 seconds. They cant quantify this, but believe she hangs onto more water than other swimmers. With four golds, Ledecky expanded her career World Championships medal haul to 22, passing Natalie Coughlin for most for a female swimmer. If I have a bad practice, I dont let it get to me, Ledecky said. Ledecky sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. Ledecky made her first splash in international swimming after her freshman year at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in . Nature versus nurture? However, elite swimmers focus on how to generate propulsion more efficiently.. This is something really, really special.. The next morning, Ledecky struggled through her preliminary heat of the 1500-meter freestyle despite qualifying first for the event's final. Some days she left him absolutely demolished and approached record paces in the middle of exhausting workouts. . 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. The next day, Ledecky lowered her own mark again in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:25.15. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, and Melanie Margalis won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. 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. She doesnt have a central governor like most athletes do, that mind-to-muscle idea that I need to shut down right now. Theres nothing you can throw at her that she cant convince herself that she can do.. Gemmell warned other men in the training camp to be ready for Ledecky to beat them. But within an hour of each other? She has the 24 fastest swims of all time. Ledecky's swim was the seventh-fastest performance in history. 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. The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan said. Barbini noticed the mix of intensity and care thats as much a part of Ledecky as the blazing times. Ledecky returned to competition three days later to swim the final of the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Shes doing what everybody else does. 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. It worked. [74] She signed with Wasserman sports agent Dan Levy for representation.[75]. In between London and Rio, Ledecky quietly became the world's most dominant swimmer no longer just a distance specialist. 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. [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. There are technical explanations: her aerobic system using oxygen with extraordinary efficiency, while her anaerobic system generates explosive bursts of energy. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. 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. Maybe the explanation is unknowable. Stanford earned its second team title in as many years. [137], Ledecky won the 1500-meter freestyle two days later in a time of 15:30.15, over 14 seconds faster than runner-up and teammate Katie Grimes. Take the 400 freestyle final at the trials. She takes a little advantage by doing all these little things a little bit better and I think that all adds up to her being so much better than everybody else, Barbini said. He describes them as holy cannoli swims that would leave almost anyone elses jaw on the floor. [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. [33] Anchor Missy Franklin overtook Australian Alicia Coutts in the last 200 meters, giving the US the gold. Visit latimes.com/olympics now and throughout the Games for the latest Olympic news and analysis. 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. Genetics? 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. When Ledecky isn't training, she doesn't stray much from her . 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 met both. [89], Ledecky began 2021 at the TYR Pro Swim Series at San Antonio, Texas. 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. 422 posts. Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition. How fast would Torri Huske, the 18-year-old phenom headed to Stanford this fall, swim in the 100 butterfly 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. This is really impressive. Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. [96] In the evening final of the 400 meter freestyle, Ledecky finished first with a time of 4:01.27, securing her first spot on her third US Olympic Team swimming the 400 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. [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]. 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. Thats why Bruce Gemmell quips that Ledecky would be content to race in a cardboard box. [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. 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. 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. [109][111] She swam a 1:55.11 in the 200 meter freestyle. What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. 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. Nathan Fenno is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times focused on investigations, features and in-depth stories. 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 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. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4200-meter freestyle. 1 ranking", "SwimSwam Pulse: 52.4% Pick Ledecky As Swimmer of the 2010s", "Lewis Hamilton voted Best British Sports Star of the Decade as Djokovic, Ledecky and Kuneida also triumph", "Serena Williams aces AP athlete of the decade honors", "Katie Ledecky, after being slowed by illness, showcases her speed", "2020 PSS - Des Moines: Ledecky Scratches 800 Free on Day 4", "With eyes on Tokyo, Katie Ledecky returns to find out what a difference a year makes", "Katie Ledecky wins all four of her events, Simone Manuel takes 50-meter crown at TYR Pro Swim Series", "Meet Results: Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite 5/20/2021 - 5/23/2021", "Katie Ledecky vs. herself: How a backyard pool and unrelenting drive has the U.S. swimmer on the brink of Olympic history", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap", "Katie Ledecky's first opportunity to make Tokyo Olympic team has arrived in 400m freestyle", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 400m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Finals Live Recap", "Tickets Punched: Katie Ledecky and Torri Huske are Tokyo Bound", "U.S. Olympic Trials: Katie Ledecky Swims 4:01.27 to Qualify for Third Olympics; Paige Madden Pulls Away for Second", "Katie Ledecky relieved to check the box after qualifying for third Olympics", "Katie Ledecky vs Ariarne Titmus Rivalry Emerges in 400m Freestyle Before Tokyo", "Katie Ledecky makes US Olympic team with win in women's 400-meter freestyle", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic trials Wave II: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Semifinals Results Summary", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "Katie Ledecky, after chats with legends, wins two races in one night at Olympic Swimming Trials", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 4 Finals Live Recap", "For Katie Ledecky, the long and short of it is first place in both the 1,500 and 200 freestyle", "Katie Ledecky shows dominance, poise at U.S. Olympics swim trials", "Katie Ledecky wins 1500m free 70 minutes after 200m at US Olympic Trials", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 800m Freestyle Heats Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap", "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 800m Freestyle Final Results Summary", "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 7 Finals Live Recap", "Which athletes have won the most Olympic medals in Tokyo 2020? 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. [34], Ledecky scored more points than any other swimmer to earn the FINA trophy for best female swimmer of the meet.[35]. About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. But everybody feels that.. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. 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. 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. [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. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky. [129] She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the prelim round still holds. General swimmers tend to think that if they can just get their arms around faster and kick their legs faster, they can swim faster. [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. [126] She swam a 1:55.34 in the semifinals of the 200 meter freestyle and advanced to the final ranking third overall. In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. Winning both? 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. 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. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. [11][12][13][14] Ledecky's mother is of Irish descent. In the evening session, Ledecky faced a tough double with the 1500-meter freestyle final and the semi-finals of the 200-meter freestyle shortly after. Ledecky was the defending Olympic champion and world-record holder. 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. [141], The following week at the World Cup's Indianapolis stop, Ledecky broke the world record in the 800m short course freestyle. 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. Ledecky qualified in the heats with a time of 3:58.71, an Olympic record. [47] Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76. We want to know what transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? Huske won the race and set an American record in the event. The Washington athlete is also holds the 800m and 1500m freestyle world records, and owns 18 of the 20 fastest 1500m freestyle times ever. Maybe the history Ledecky is making is as remarkable as how shes doing it. 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. 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. I promise this isnt because Im getting my butt kicked.. Trust me, Gemmell said. 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 . Despite being in season and swimming multiple events, Ledecky was able to first break the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:34.23,[36] bettering her previous mark of 15:36.53. Athlete. 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. 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. [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. The stories pile up. (Pan Pacific Championships Results), Stanford-bound swimmer Katie Ledecky sets world record, Katie Ledecky Wins 800 in Record Time, Completing World Championships Sweep, Katie Ledecky Making Sub-4:00 Look Pedestrian With Meet Record to Defend 400 Free Title at 2015 FINA World Championships, Katie Ledecky Breaks World Record, Almost by Accident, "16th FINA World Championships Women's 1500 metre freestyle (final)", "16th FINA World Championships Women's 200 metre freestyle (semifinals)", Katie Ledecky expands world dominance with 200 freestyle title, Katie Ledecky does it again, breaks world record in 800 free, Katie Ledecky Now Owns the 10 Fastest 800 Free Times Ever, Ledecky, Phelps Named Swimmers of the Meet, "Katie Ledecky Wins Gold in 400-Meter Freestyle", "Katie Ledecky Smashes World Record in the 800-Meter Freestyle", "Katie Ledecky Defends 800m Free Title To Win 4th Gold in Rio", "Ledecky Wins 1650 By A Minute, Breaks American, NCAA Records At OSU", "Ledecky Scorches NCAA, American Records With 4:25.15 500 Free", "Katie Ledecky Beaten by Simone Manuel, Still Sets Two Personal Bests", "A Louisville Swimmer Managed To Tie Katie Ledecky in an NCAA Championship Race", "Ledecky Laps All But One Swimmer To Win NCAA Title", "Stanford Wins First NCAA Swimming and Diving Title Since 1998", "Katie Ledecky Wins 400m Freestyle Gold Medal at World Aquatics Championships", "Katie Ledecky, USA Win 4x100m Free Relay at 2017 World Aquatics Championships", "Ledecky's Dozen: Passes Missy For Most World Champs Golds In History", "Ledecky Drops 15:03, Clips American Record", "KATIE LEDECKY SMASHES 400 IM AMERICAN RECORD, TOPS NCAA RECORD IN 3:56.5", https://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/external/gametool/brackets/swimdive_d1_2018_final_results.pdf%7Ctitle=2018, "Katie Ledecky Signs with Wasserman Agent Dan Levy", "If you thought Katie Ledecky was done shattering world records, you were sorely mistaken", "Katie Ledecky signs with TYR, her first endorsement deal since turning pro", "Men Don't Move, but Ledecky Takes Women's Lead in PSS Standings", "Ledecky cruises to easy win in 800 free at US Nationals", "Katie Ledecky wins 400m free at Pan Pacs, but she has company", "Ledecky withdraws from 2 events at worlds due to illness", "Natalie Coughlin to Return to Competition with the DC Trident", "Katie Ledecky wins by 30 seconds, takes back No. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. Ledecky is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle (both long course and short course) as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course). The words were matter-of-fact, delivered without a trace of pretense. David Marsh, an assistant on the team who served as the womens coach in 2016, recalled coaches gathering when Ledecky swam. Her combined 20 individual titles at the Olympics (6) and World Aquatics Championships (14) is also a record for female swimmers. [53], Her first individual event was the 400-meter freestyle. Shes swimming in full dude territory, he said. They were called watch times.. She was swimming like most classic female distance swimmers, Suguiyama later told the American Swimming Coaches Assn. 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. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. When she started working with Gemmell in 2012, she could not . 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. Theres no special sauce. That continued when Ledecky arrived at Stanford as a freshman in 2016. 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. OMAHA As she prepared for her first Olympics nine years ago, a 15-year-old Katie Ledecky carried hopes and dreams into the London Games. Twelve of the top 14 times. 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. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. The section also will be available for purchase at latimes.com/store. 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. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. Ledecky recorded a split of 52.64 in the heats. Do not let it pass over you., Subscribers get early access to this story. In Budapest, Ledecky broke the World Aquatics Championships' all-time female gold medal record, winning five golds and one silver to bring her career title total to 14. Ledecky almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 8:11.35. (Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press) Michael Phelps, the 28-time. [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). Shes doing what everybody else does. Shes swimming faster than we are, said Urbanchek, coach to 44 Olympians and an assistant on six Olympic teams. Follow. What transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? 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. 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. She won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races. An iron will? The 400? 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. She broke the existing mark by five seconds. [122] Ledecky's time of 3:57.36 was the second-fastest time of her career and fourth-fastest in history. [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. During their next training session, he recalled, she said, Weve got to get our 40. She did. But she was always bouncing up and down, really bouncy in the water and I think you can swim better than that.. But Katie Ledecky would rather study it at Stanford once the Rio Games are in the past. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. She certainly is.. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39. Are you willing to push yourself beyond all comprehension or are you not? Nagle said. 883 following. 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. Im know Im supposed to be doing this too. She doesnt have an unusually long torso or long arms or large hands. She has an elder brother. All of this feeds Ledeckys ability to do things in the pool that arent normal. [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. 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. Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. Ledecky provided the US with an early lead, swimming the first leg in a personal best of 1:56.32. Verified. (Photo: JIM SHORIN/isiphotos.com, Graphic: KATRINA LIOU/The Stanford Daily) By Inyoung Choi.