Were offering L.A. Times subscribers first access to our best journalism. It might be easy to brush off the prediction as a fluke, but chance doesnt play much of a role when Ledecky is involved. [139], On day 7, Ledecky won her final event by over 10 seconds, recording a time of 8:08.04 in the 800-meter freestyle. Her strength-to-body mass ratio is probably in the top 98%.. Katie Ledecky shifts her training base to University of Florida ahead of Paris 2024. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. Im know Im supposed to be doing this too. She won 10 Olympic medals, 7 of which were gold. [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. As a freestyle swimmer, Katie possesses fifteen World gold medals, five Olympic golds, and 14 Pan Pacifics. And not even appearing winded? Twice each week, she trained against long-distance swimmers Liam Egan and True Sweetser. [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. Some of these things that might have come naturally and unconsciously when she was 16, now its conscious, Mark said. 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. 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. 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. The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky. While every distance swimmer grinds through thousands of monotonous yards each week, these sessions are somehow different for Ledecky. 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. 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. 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. 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. [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. 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. Katie Ledecky was born on 17 March 1997 in Washington, DC, United States. David Marsh, an assistant on the team who served as the womens coach in 2016, recalled coaches gathering when Ledecky swam. Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. With this win being Ledecky's twelfth World Championship gold medal, Ledecky passed Missy Franklin for the most gold medals won by a female swimmer in long course World Championships history.[70]. . Swimmer Katie Ledecky inspired to 'put a smile on someone's face' as [51] At the conclusion of the week, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet. Katie Ledecky competes in the womens 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. [129] She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the prelim round still holds. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. 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. 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. [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. TOKYO Katie Ledecky has won her first gold of the Tokyo Olympics, in the 1,500 meter freestyle race. Turned out a bigger foe lurked behind him: the pace clock. On July 1, Ledecky broke Janet Evans's 28-year-old national championship record in the morning preliminary heats of the 800-meter freestyle (8:10.91) before placing seventh that evening in the 100-meter freestyle (53.99). [58] Ledecky was also the 2nd most decorated Olympian at the 2016 games behind Michael Phelps (5 golds, 1 silver).[59]. Ledecky opened the Trials with a win and meet record in the 400-meter freestyle (3:58.98). Katie Ledecky's height is 6 feet tall and her body weight is 73 kilograms. At the 750-meter mark, Ledecky was 3.42 seconds ahead of Mireia Belmonte Garca, and 0.31 seconds under world record pace. She keeps logbooks chronicling most of her practices dating to 2011. Her time of 7:57.42 surpassed Mireia Belmonte's mark from 2013.[142]. 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. They realized the goals, lofty as they might seem for a teenager, were too pedestrian. She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. Rio 2016 Olympics: Katie Ledecky already a step ahead of - Telegraph 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. On the first day of competition, Ledecky led Australian Ariarne Titmus into the final wall of the 400-meter freestyle final before fading to second. Her face was red. Sometimes she faded. [39], In the 200-meter freestyle final, Ledecky had over a half-second lead on the field at the halfway point before winning by 1.46 seconds with a meet record time of 1:55.74. 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. On the first day of competition, Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle with a championship-record time of 8:09.13, topping runner-up Ariarne Titmus of Australia by 7.94 seconds. She wasnt a great puller. Her Czech-born paternal grandfather Jaromr Ledecky arrived in New York City on September 8, 1947, as a student,[10] later becoming an economist, and married an Ashkenazi Jewish woman named Berta Ruth Greenwald (Ledecky's paternal grandmother) in Brooklyn on December 30, 1956, and through her Ledecky has relatives who were killed in the Holocaust in Europe. Thats why Bruce Gemmell quips that Ledecky would be content to race in a cardboard box. Katie Ledecky. National Team Director Frank Busch described Ledecky's 1500 performance as "the most impressive race I have ever seen, and I've been in the sport for 50 years. She's blazing a completely different trail than anyone who has come before. 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). Shes not doing some special strength program that nobody else knows about. There are technical explanations: her aerobic system using oxygen with extraordinary efficiency, while her anaerobic system generates explosive bursts of energy. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. 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. In the middle of a difficult practice, Sweetser noticed Ledecky staring at him. She doesnt have Phelps attention-grabbing build that included an 80-inch wingspan and size-14 feet that seemed to double as flippers. [132][133] Additionally, Ledecky signed on to be a volunteer swim coach for the Florida Gators. [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. [68] Later that evening, Ledecky swam the third leg of the 4100-meter freestyle. In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. [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. Verified. 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. All of this feeds Ledeckys ability to do things in the pool that arent normal. Theres no special sauce. The girl couldnt make it across the pool. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship. The quiet 15-year-old usually kept up with the men, who noticed fearlessness and poise that belied her youth. Competing in both events is rare enough. 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 uses a short left stroke, followed by a long right one, while breathing on her right side every other stroke, and repeating the pattern. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. And theyre ultimately suggestions straining to answer a larger question. A lot of people have the tendency to want to protect themselves in their training, Sweetser said. Ledecky finished second in the 400-yard individual medley to Eastin, who lowered the record Ledecky set a month earlier at the Pac-12 Championships. A swimmer needs ample strength for this approach to work. 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. (Photo: JIM SHORIN/isiphotos.com, Graphic: KATRINA LIOU/The Stanford Daily) By Inyoung Choi. Visit latimes.com/olympics now and throughout the Games for the latest Olympic news and analysis. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. Ledecky provided the US with an early lead, swimming the first leg in a personal best of 1:56.32. Mary Gen Ledecky, who swam in college, encouraged her daughter to write down goals. She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. 3x U.S. Olympic Swimmer (2012, 2016, 2021) 7x Olympic Gold Medalist 19x World Champion Stanford grad #TeamTYR - Katie@teamwass.com. 'In 2016 she was 16. [55], Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. Figure Skating championships. Ledecky is a 10-time Olympic medalist with seven golds. 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. 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. [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. She is the daughter of David Ledecky and Mary Gen Ledecky. Katie just dives in headfirst and really forces you to get the most out of practice. 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. She feels water better than anyone else has ever felt water, Barbini said. In between London and Rio, Ledecky quietly became the world's most dominant swimmer no longer just a distance specialist. Ledecky's swim was the seventh-fastest performance in history. During the 201718 NCAA season, Ledecky set another three NCAA records and two American records while helping lead Stanford to its second straight team title. What happened took everyone by surprise. 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. Ledecky returned to competition three days later to swim the final of the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky - TheList 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. She wasnt a great kicker. Katie Ledecky competes in the women's 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. But her career is also a two-way conversation. May 4, 2020, 8:23 p.m. Five days after she turned 23, Katie Ledecky '20 . The next morning, Ledecky struggled through her preliminary heat of the 1500-meter freestyle despite qualifying first for the event's final. [15] She was raised Catholic. Some days she left him absolutely demolished and approached record paces in the middle of exhausting workouts. With four golds, Ledecky expanded her career World Championships medal haul to 22, passing Natalie Coughlin for most for a female swimmer. [111] Ledecky won the 200 meter and 1500 meter freestyle finals in a time span of about 70 minutes as well as collecting her medal at the 200 meter freestyle medal ceremony and eating a snack. [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. 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. Hideki Takagi, a professor at the University of Tsukuba in Japan focused on the hydrodynamics and biomechanics of swimming, underlined the importance of this trait. [140], On October 28, during the Toronto round of the FINA Swimming World Cup, Ledecky swam the 1500m short course event for the first time. 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.. The top 11 times. But she shows gratitude and appreciation and keeps people coming back to get their heads kicked in.. 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., Lee Sommers, an athletic trainer in Bethesda, Md., who helped prepare Ledecky for Rio. The 400? 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. Shes doing what everybody else does. Katie Ledecky hugs Erica Sullivan after winning the womens 1500 freestyle during the second wave of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. They swam identical workouts. Is she tall for the average person? How fast would Torri Huske, the 18-year-old phenom headed to Stanford this fall, swim in the 100 butterfly final? Eighteen years later, Katie Ledecky is the worlds most dominant freestyle swimmer. She took silver in her first race of the Games, and then missed out on medaling in the 200 . 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. Catholic faith anchors swimmer Katie Ledecky - Religion News Service A 58-foot-wide picture of Ledecky adorned the outside of the CHI Health Center in Omaha during the Olympic trials in 2016. 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 final day of competition, she reset her world record in the 800-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 8:06.68. [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. God? [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. I really havent had too many of those over the past couple months, so thats a good thing.. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4200-meter freestyle. 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. [46], On the third day of competition during the morning session, Ledecky swam in the heats of the 200-meter freestyle and qualified first with a time of 1:55.82. Since NCAA rules keep mens and womens swim teams that dont use the same coach from practicing together, Ledecky used lane 12 and Sweetser lane 11. [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. 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. About an hour later, she returned to the pool for the 1,500 freestyle final. 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. Fifty-two percent of SwimSwam.com readers voted Ledecky the top swimmer of the decade, ahead of Michael Phelps. Twelve of the top 14 times. 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. Thats not new. She also swam in the 100-meter freestyle heats. The questions pile up too. 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. There were days where I wanted to tap my dad and say, Hey, can I just watch? Gemmell said. [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. Coaches, teammates and competitors point to her powerful stroke, legendary training sessions, unusual blend of speed and endurance, and tenacity that is otherworldly. Ledecky sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. Allyson Felix is determined to make the U.S. Olympic track and field team for the upcoming Tokyo Games as she looks to add to her legacy in the sport. Her physiology? Olympian Katie Ledecky Shares Her Diet and Training Routine - Prevention [42] Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. Each month, she sends practice video to Russell Mark, a former rocket scientist who is USA Swimmings national team performance manager. [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. She is Unmarried. [97][98][99][100] This accomplishment was highlighted by various news outlets including NBC Sports, Newsweek, and USA Today. 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. At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. 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. (Charlie Neibergall / Associated Press) Michael Phelps, the 28-time. [141], The following week at the World Cup's Indianapolis stop, Ledecky broke the world record in the 800m short course freestyle. [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. 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. 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 . [72], At the NCAA Championships, Ledecky won the 500 and 1650-yard freestyle events by record margins and anchored the winning 800-yard freestyle relay team of Katie Drabot, Brooke Forde, and Ella Eastin. Katie Ledecky studied at Stanford University. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. They review the video together, as much for what he notices as her feedback. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. 'Gallop' or a 'giddy-up' Once the swimmers emerge from below the surface and. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. 'It's unheard of': How Katie Ledecky excels as both an endurance and The process trumped everything. [33] Anchor Missy Franklin overtook Australian Alicia Coutts in the last 200 meters, giving the US the gold. In the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky set her third world record of the year by breaking Federica Pellegrini's 2009 world record of 3:59.15 with a time of 3:58.86. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:55.64 and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:45.37. [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. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39. 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. On the third day, Ledecky defeated Titmus wire-to-wire in the 400-meter freestyle.[80]. What makes Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky so remarkable? But Katie Ledecky would rather study it at Stanford once the Rio Games are in the past. [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. She settled for the silver this time in 3:57.36, the fourth-fastest time ever recorded. On the fourth day of the Olympic trials, for example, she won the 200 freestyle by a full body length after pulling away in the final 50 meters. She wasnt great at skills or drills we would try and teach her. Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. Thats key to her success. Katie Ledecky Dimensions & Drawings | Dimensions.com Were content to enjoy the gift. She won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races. Its a mindset that different to go out as fast as you can without being blatantly reckless.. Most of the time she didnt. She subsequently announced her withdrawal from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle due to illness.[81]. General swimmers tend to think that if they can just get their arms around faster and kick their legs faster, they can swim faster. Or perhaps the answer is more basic. At the National Championships, she finished first in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, and second in the 200-meter freestyle. In the team standings, Stanford beat runner-up California-Berkeley by 220 points, the largest margin of victory in 25 years. 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. 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. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. The traits, at least individually, arent uncommon in elite swimmers. 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. Born in Maryland in 1997, Katie Ledecky began swimming competitively at age six. Oh, man, this is not exactly what we thought, he said. Stanford earned its second team title in as many years.
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