On the final day of competition, she reset her world record in the 800-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 8:06.68. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, and Melanie Margalis won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. [29] In the final, Ledecky stunned the field, winning gold by more than four seconds, with a time of 8:14.63, the then second-fastest effort of all time just behind Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10 set in 2008. But Ledecky doesnt just beat records, she transforms them. The section also will be available for purchase at latimes.com/store. Barbini noticed the mix of intensity and care thats as much a part of Ledecky as the blazing times. Her time of 7:57.42 surpassed Mireia Belmonte's mark from 2013.[142]. What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. [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). She won the first-ever women's 1500 . Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. 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. 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. 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]. One key is obsessive attention to detail. [47] Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76. [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. [97][98][99][100] This accomplishment was highlighted by various news outlets including NBC Sports, Newsweek, and USA Today. 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. Its a mindset that different to go out as fast as you can without being blatantly reckless.. Katie Ledecky has a height of 6'0" (1.83 m). The Untold Truth Of Katie Ledecky. What transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. And perhaps thats the greatest mystery of all. Ledecky's split was the fastest of all swimmers in the relay finals. Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 seconds. This was Ledecky's first international loss in a final in individual event. 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. She won a fourth gold in her final individual event, the 800-meter freestyle. She took silver in her first race of the Games, and then missed out on medaling in the 200 . Catholic faith anchors swimmer Katie Ledecky - Religion News Service She has no long torso, no wide. She was swimming like most classic female distance swimmers, Suguiyama later told the American Swimming Coaches Assn. Aussie Terminator takes out Katie Ledecky in first Olympics matchup [76], Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc. on June 8, 2018. 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. [16] Her uncle Jon Ledecky is a businessman and a co-owner of the NHL team New York Islanders. [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. It might be easy to brush off the prediction as a fluke, but chance doesnt play much of a role when Ledecky is involved. She feels water better than anyone else has ever felt water, Barbini said. How Katie Ledecky became better at swimming than anyone is at anything Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky on training in a backyard pool and - CNN Yes. At just 19 years old, Katie Ledecky is the most dominant swimmer in the world. 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. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. There were days where I wanted to tap my dad and say, Hey, can I just watch? Gemmell said. 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. But she was always bouncing up and down, really bouncy in the water and I think you can swim better than that.. [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 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. 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. 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. The swim was the fifth-fastest in history and earned Ledecky the 28 fastest times in the distance. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. [84] Readers of The London Evening Standard voted Ledecky the International Sportswoman of the Decade. Ledecky has plenty, starting with the hip turn and core that provide much of her power. 883 following. She was just doing what Jon was saying.. 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. 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. Some days she left him absolutely demolished and approached record paces in the middle of exhausting workouts. 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. Thats whats allowing her to get such a good grab of the water and have such good force generation per stroke.. She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final. Her 3:57.36 on Sunday was the second-fastest she . Having already set 11 world records, she is a favorite to win at the Rio Olympics in the women's 200-, 400- and. 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. 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. Is she tall for the average person? 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. She subsequently announced her withdrawal from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle due to illness.[81]. [130] Ledecky won her second gold medal of the Olympics and her seventh of all time in the 800-meter freestyle. 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 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. [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. [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. [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. What makes Katie Ledecky the most dominant Olympic swimmer? This is something really, really special.. Ledecky's swim was the seventh-fastest performance in history. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. 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. [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. [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. Is it her training? (RNS) Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. Katie Ledecky on her Tokyo wins, mental health and gender - PBS 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 . 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.