[108] These two swims secured her spots on the US Olympic Team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 1500 meter freestyle and 200 meter freestyle individual events as well as the 4x200 meter freestyle relay. She keeps logbooks chronicling most of her practices dating to 2011. Katie just dives in headfirst and really forces you to get the most out of practice. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. 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. In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. [47] Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76. 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. But she was always bouncing up and down, really bouncy in the water and I think you can swim better than that.. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. Ledecky breaking an arm in fourth grade, but jumping back into the pool with a cast. 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. The top 11 times. Barbini noticed the mix of intensity and care thats as much a part of Ledecky as the blazing times. 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.. [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. 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. 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 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. 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. Eighteen years later, Katie Ledecky is the worlds most dominant freestyle swimmer. But she addressed it and moved forward. Still recovering from illness, Ledecky qualified second the next day for the final of the 800-meter freestyle. [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. Twice each week, she trained against long-distance swimmers Liam Egan and True Sweetser. [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. Shes kind of a freak athlete, said Lee Sommers, an athletic trainer in Bethesda, Md., who helped prepare Ledecky for Rio. Katie Ledecky. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, and Melanie Margalis won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. [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]. Matt Barbini, USA Swimmings national team performance director, recalled the feeling after Ledeckys surprise victory in the 800 at the London Olympics in 2012 introduced the little-known teenager to the world. Competing in both events is rare enough. Shes able to really lean into each arm, Sweetser said. 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. Is she tall for the average person? It worked. 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. Katie Ledecky competes in the women's 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. Katie Ledecky shifts her training base to University of Florida ahead of Paris 2024. Are you willing to push yourself beyond all comprehension or are you not? Nagle said. We dont clamor for such answers while admiring a sopranos voice or an actors ability to make us weep. Figure Skating championships. 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.. [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. 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. 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 . Im know Im supposed to be doing this too. Then it did. Yes. 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. But everybody feels that.. Some said it would never happen. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. [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. At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. 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. We want to know what transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36, the fourth-fastest time ever recorded. Ledecky's swim was the seventh-fastest performance in history. Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. [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. [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. There are technical explanations: her aerobic system using oxygen with extraordinary efficiency, while her anaerobic system generates explosive bursts of energy. 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. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. After a year of uncertainty brought on by postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, top U.S. swimmers are ready for some familiarity at the U.S. swim trials. She doesnt have an unusually long torso or long arms or large hands. 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. She won a fourth gold in her final individual event, the 800-meter freestyle. Ledecky concluded the championships with another gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, winning by a margin of 21.11-seconds (15:38.97). 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. Katie Ledekcy won two golds and two silvers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She won the first-ever women's 1500 . Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. (Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press) Michael Phelps, the 28-time. Nathan Fenno is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times focused on investigations, features and in-depth stories. Verified. 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]. 3x U.S. Olympic Swimmer (2012, 2016, 2021) 7x Olympic Gold Medalist 19x World Champion Stanford grad #TeamTYR - Katie@teamwass.com. 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. Less than an hour later, Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle, swimming under her world record pace for most of the race before touching in at 8:11.35, the second-fastest time ever, to win by 7.52 seconds over New Zealand swimmer Lauren Boyle.[40]. 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. She wasnt a great kicker. 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. 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. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. 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). 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. They realized the goals, lofty as they might seem for a teenager, were too pedestrian. 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. At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Ledecky battled illness and withdrew from two events before winning her fourth-straight World Championship title in the 800-meter freestyle. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. [129] She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the prelim round still holds. 422 posts. 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. 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. Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. All of this feeds Ledeckys ability to do things in the pool that arent normal. 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. As a freestyle swimmer, Katie possesses fifteen World gold medals, five Olympic golds, and 14 Pan Pacifics. [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. During the 201617 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University. Shes doing what everybody else does. [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. Maybe there isnt a secret. A combination of protein (like chicken, steak, or salmon) and a carb (like rice, vegetable, or pasta) rounds out her day. 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. 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. 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. Oh, man, this is not exactly what we thought, he said. She broke the existing mark by five seconds. The 400? Maybe the explanation is unknowable. Instead, Ledecky has a gift that defies measurement. When Ledecky isn't training, she doesn't stray much from her . (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. The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan said. During their next training session, he recalled, she said, Weve got to get our 40. She did. Inside the 24-year-old Katie Ledecky's decision to leave Stanford and join elite training partners and a new coach in Anthony Nesty at the University of Florida, ahead of Paris 2024. Ledecky is a 10-time Olympic medalist with seven golds. 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. In between London and Rio, Ledecky quietly became the world's most dominant swimmer no longer just a distance specialist. [94][95] The 400 meter freestyle was the first race on Ledecky's schedule where she had the opportunity to make the 2020 USA Olympic Team. 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. Shes also remained remarkably healthy, aside from occasional illnesses, in a sport in which unrelenting training exacts a toll on the body. [61] On the meet's third day, she won the 400-yard individual medley in a new American record of 3:57.68 before finishing second to teammate Simone Manuel in the 200-yard freestyle with a personal best time less than a half hour later. [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. [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. [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. Dinner. It was two big kicks and bilateral breathing. 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 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. 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. [141], The following week at the World Cup's Indianapolis stop, Ledecky broke the world record in the 800m short course freestyle. 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. May 4, 2020, 8:23 p.m. Five days after she turned 23, Katie Ledecky '20 . She has recognition of these things in the middle of a race and can make an adjustment. Ledecky won easily in 4 minutes 1.27 seconds, the 43rd-fastest swim ever by a woman. 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. 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. Her physiology? The next day, Ledecky anchored the United States team of Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Or Mark finding Ledecky eating alone in the dining hall at the London Olympics the day of her 800 freestyle final, appearing as calm as a seasoned veteran. One key is obsessive attention to detail. 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. At the Texas A&M Invitational in November 2017, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open mark in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:03.31. Dwyer topped out at 40 inches. She won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races. God? The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky. She also swam in the 100-meter freestyle heats. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. "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. She was just doing what Jon was saying.. 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. Some of these things that might have come naturally and unconsciously when she was 16, now its conscious, Mark said.