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. 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 subsequently announced her withdrawal from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle due to illness.[81]. [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. Each month, she sends practice video to Russell Mark, a former rocket scientist who is USA Swimmings national team performance manager. 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. She was just doing what Jon was saying.. On the third day, Ledecky defeated Titmus wire-to-wire in the 400-meter freestyle.[80]. Shes just doing it better than everybody else., Bruce Gemmell, Katie Ledeckys coach at the Nations Capital Swim Club, Some of this immunity to pressure comes from her knack to set goals, internalize them, then turn them into reality. [15] She was raised Catholic. They realized the goals, lofty as they might seem for a teenager, were too pedestrian. 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. Much like the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky let Lotte Friis lead most of the race, making a move at the 650-meter mark to eventually win the race by 2.46 seconds. It worked. [18], During the summer of 2012, she trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club (formerly the Curl Burke Swim Club) under coach Yuri Suguiyama. This was Ledecky's first international loss in a final in individual event. Katie Ledecky reacts after winning her heat in the Womens 200 Freestyle during the second wave of the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials on June 15 in Omaha, Neb. She wasnt a great kicker. [129] She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the prelim round still holds. They cant quantify this, but believe she hangs onto more water than other swimmers. 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. 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. 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.. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. Katie Ledecky was born on 17 March 1997 in Washington, DC, United States. The process trumped everything. While every distance swimmer grinds through thousands of monotonous yards each week, these sessions are somehow different for Ledecky. [71], Following another undefeated dual meet season, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second straight year at the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, sweeping the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard freestyle. [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. 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. [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. [132][133] Additionally, Ledecky signed on to be a volunteer swim coach for the Florida Gators. A 58-foot-wide picture of Ledecky adorned the outside of the CHI Health Center in Omaha during the Olympic trials in 2016. 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. Oh, man, this is not exactly what we thought, he said. 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. [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. (RNS) Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. 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. Then it did. Were offering L.A. Times subscribers first access to our best journalism. 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. [97][98][99][100] This accomplishment was highlighted by various news outlets including NBC Sports, Newsweek, and USA Today. That performance burned into the coachs memory. The American . Theres no special sauce. Twelve of the top 14 times. [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. She wasnt a great puller. [54], Ledecky won a second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a personal best of 1:53.73, beating Sarah Sjstrm by 0.35 seconds. 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]. What transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? She has the 24 fastest swims of all time. Nature versus nurture? Its just her commitment and desire for getting better.. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. 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. Shes just doing it better than everybody else.. Shes not afraid to fail. Verified. Katie Ledecky, left, finishes the womens 400-meter freestyle final far ahead of silver medal winner Leah Smith, right, during the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on July 23, 2017. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. Ledecky passed Quadarella and pulled away in the final 50 meters to win by 1.41 seconds. [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. But within an hour of each other? And theyre ultimately suggestions straining to answer a larger question. Ledecky made her debut as a professional swimmer on May 16, 2018, at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she beat her old world record in the 1500-meter freestyle, setting a new world record of 15:20.48. The top 11 times. "[18], During the championships' closing ceremonies, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet.[43]. On the seventh day of competition, Ledecky completed her World Championships run by winning gold in the 800-meter freestyle in a world record time of 8:07.39, breaking her own record by 3.61 seconds.[44]. 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. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. [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]. In keeping with Ledeckys low-key personality, the goals stayed between them. Born in Maryland in 1997, Katie Ledecky began swimming competitively at age six. Michael Phelps, the 28-time Olympic medalist, called Ledecky the greatest female swimmer of our time.. 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. [73], A week following Stanford's championship win, Ledecky announced at the National Press Club that she will forego her final two seasons of NCAA eligibility in order to accept professional endorsement and sponsorship opportunities. She is Unmarried. Theres a decades worth of underwater video too. 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. What I found over time what she was great at, though, was her desire to get better. And perhaps thats the greatest mystery of all. 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. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and the greatest female swimmer of all time.[5][6]. This started as a child. [55], Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. [138], Ledecky joined Claire Weinstein, Leah Smith, and Bella Sims on the U.S. 4x200 freestyle relay on day five. Thats why Bruce Gemmell quips that Ledecky would be content to race in a cardboard box. The usual gap for a world record is as thin as an Olympic medal. Stanford earned its second team title in as many years. That shows a mastery. 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. 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. Her physiology? At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. I think she loves the training more than she loves competing, Michael said. There were many times where she was walking up for practice and I think, Thats the best female athlete in the world? Id just kind of chuckle to myself because theres nothing that said that.. [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. Athlete. Ledecky has plenty, starting with the hip turn and core that provide much of her power. The Australian, who beat Ledecky to 400m freestyle gold on Monday, also took victory in Wednesday's 200m freestyle final, with Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey in second and Canada's Penny Olesiak. A seven-time Olympic gold medalist and record-breaking swimmer, 24-year-old Katie Ledecky is one of the most decorated Olympic athletes from the Tokyo games. She has no long torso, no wide wingspan . Ledecky sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. 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? In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. But Ledecky doesnt just beat records, she transforms them. 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). [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. Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. 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. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. During the 201617 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University. Genetics? 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., Matt Barbini, USA Swimmings national team performance director. 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). [68] Later that evening, Ledecky swam the third leg of the 4100-meter freestyle. At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ledecky helped lead Stanford to its first team title since 1998. 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]. That continued when Ledecky arrived at Stanford as a freshman in 2016. Yuri Suguiyama, her first coach, watched Phelps break Australian Ian Thorpes world record in the 200 freestyle during the world championships in Melbourne. [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. Its a mindset that different to go out as fast as you can without being blatantly reckless.. He thought the she was sizing him up as another opponent to defeat. Two days later, she recorded a time of 1:54.88 en route to winning the 200-meter freestyle. In Bethesda, she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. 'Gallop' or a 'giddy-up' Once the swimmers emerge from below the surface and. Thats amazing.. [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. A week after she obliterated the 1500m short-course record, Katie Ledecky broke another - this time in the 800m as she stormed to victory at the FINA World Cup in Indianapolis.. [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. They review the video together, as much for what he notices as her feedback. 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. Ledecky's success has earned her Swimming World's Female World Swimmer of the Year a record-breaking five times. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. She won a fourth gold in her final individual event, the 800-meter freestyle. He can count on one hand the number of times she was floored by a workout. What happened took everyone by surprise. At the 2017 US National Championships, the qualifying meet for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, Ledecky won the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle and earned a spot on six events. Shes kind of a freak athlete. Huske won the race and set an American record in the event. Follow. Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. (Photo: JIM SHORIN/isiphotos.com, Graphic: KATRINA LIOU/The Stanford Daily) By Inyoung Choi. Her gold was the first international medal of her career, earning her the 2012 Best Female Performance of the Year and Breakout Performer of the Year at the Golden Goggle Awards. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. [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. General swimmers tend to think that if they can just get their arms around faster and kick their legs faster, they can swim faster. 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. [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. Barbini noticed the mix of intensity and care thats as much a part of Ledecky as the blazing times. 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 most impressive thing for me is blocking out the noise and not feeling the pressure., Urbanchek put it bluntly: Nothing distracts her., Theres no special sauce. Some said it would never happen. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship. 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. ", "Katie Ledecky is top qualifier in 400-meter freestyle", "Olympics 2021: Day 3 schedule, what to watch, results from Tokyo as Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky get started", "Ariarne Titmus vs Katie Ledecky - Watch Titmus Win Gold in the Women's 400m Freestyle Final at Tokyo 2020 Olympic", "Ledecky's Silver Medal Finish Still An Incredible Achievement", "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap", "Katie Ledecky earns Olympic record, silver medal in busy day", "Watch: Ledecky Wins Both 200/1500 FR Heats, Douglass Wins 200 IM Prelims Heat", "2012 Olympic champion Allison Schmitt misses out on 200m freestyle final in Tokyo", "Katie Ledecky qualifies for 200m final, will face Titmus", "Katie Ledecky wins gold medal in 1,500 freestyle at Tokyo Olympics, US teammate Erica Sullivan takes silver", "Katie Ledecky 'let it go' in anchor leg of 4x200 relay, securing silver", "Katie Ledecky makes history with 6th individual gold, cements Olympic icon status, and she'll be back in 2024", "Olympic Champion Katie Ledecky Heads To Florida To Train Under Anthony Nesty", "The Week That Was: Katie Ledecky Announces Move to Gainesville, ISL Regular Season Concludes", "Katie Ledecky joining Florida Gators as volunteer swimming coach", "Ledecky stretches 22-medal record at worlds with 800 title", "Ledecky, Marchand Named FINA Swimmers of the Meet", "Katie Ledecky Pulls Away from Field to Retake 400 Free World Title", "Ledecky extends record medal haul at swimming worlds to 21", "Katie Ledecky Breaks 1500 Free World Record by 10 Seconds; Gets 800 AR En Route", "Katie Ledecky Breaks Second World Record In A Week", "Stanford Swimming Standout Katie Ledecky Wins Honda Cup; Named Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year", "Swimming World December 2021 Presents 2021 World Swimmers of the Year: Caeleb Dressel and Emma McKeon", "SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2021: Women's #10 #1", "SwimSwam's Top 100 For 2022: Women's #10-1", "TIME Honors Distance Star Katie Ledecky As One Of Its Top 100 Influential People", "Katie Ledecky Claims Record-Tying Fifth USA Swimming Athlete of the Year Honor", "Stanford swimmer Katie Ledecky wins Honda Cup", "Katie Ledecky wins top academic honor among all Division I athletes", "ESPY Awards 2022: Katie Ledecky Wins Best Female Athlete Award", Katie Ledecky Stone Ridge School student-athlete profile, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katie_Ledecky&oldid=1140336672, 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships , USA Swimming Athlete of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, USA Swimming Performance of the Year Award: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, Golden Goggle Female Race of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, Golden Goggle Breakout Performer of the Year: 2012, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 16:58. Eighteen years later, Katie Ledecky is the worlds most dominant freestyle swimmer. But everybody feels that.. "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. With four golds, Ledecky expanded her career World Championships medal haul to 22, passing Natalie Coughlin for most for a female swimmer. Shes doing what everybody else does. In the final, she won the gold medal with a world record time of 3:56.46nearly two seconds faster than her previous record from 2014 and almost 5 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin. They are the first Olympians to be given this honor. 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. [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. David Marsh, an assistant on the team who served as the womens coach in 2016, recalled coaches gathering when Ledecky swam. [76], Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc. on June 8, 2018. 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. [87] Ledecky withdrew from the 800-meter freestyle race due to illness. [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. Yes. 578k Followers, 883 Following, 422 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky) katieledecky. She doesnt have Phelps attention-grabbing build that included an 80-inch wingspan and size-14 feet that seemed to double as flippers. [19], In December 2016, Ledecky was chosen as one of the sponsors of the US Navy aircraft carrier USSEnterprise alongside gymnast Simone Biles. Shes always trying to maximize her performance so theres nothing left in the tank. Ledecky trailed Quadarella into the final wall. It cant be easy to go train against Katie when you know youre going to get your head kicked in, said Keenan Robinson, Phelps longtime strength and conditioning coach. 3x U.S. Olympic Swimmer (2012, 2016, 2021) 7x Olympic Gold Medalist 19x World Champion Stanford grad #TeamTYR - Katie@teamwass.com. [64] On the meet's final day, Ledecky set an NCAA record in the 1000-yard freestyle (9:06.90) en route to a championship record in the 1650-yard freestyle (15:07.70), defeating runner-up Smith by 21.19 seconds and lapping all other competitors. While Michael Phelps and his fighter-jet wingspan already have passed history by with a record 22 medals . But she addressed it and moved forward. Nathan Fenno is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times focused on investigations, features and in-depth stories. Katie Ledecky. 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. [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. The 1,500? She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. [51] At the conclusion of the week, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet. She won the first-ever women's 1500 . In the team standings, Stanford beat runner-up California-Berkeley by 220 points, the largest margin of victory in 25 years. [34], Ledecky scored more points than any other swimmer to earn the FINA trophy for best female swimmer of the meet.[35]. Coaches, teammates and competitors point to her powerful stroke, legendary training sessions, unusual blend of speed and endurance, and tenacity that is otherworldly. 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. Trust me. Katie Ledecky studied at Stanford University. The Americans (Simone Manuel, Ledecky, Melanie Margalis and Katie McLaughlin) set a new American record and swam under the existing world record with a time of 7:41.87, yet placed second to the Australian team (7:41.50). After earning a berth on the U.S. Olympic team at age 15, she set an American record in the 800-meter freestyle to. 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.. Dwyer topped out at 40 inches. Ledecky concluded the meet with a win in the 800-meter freestyle, her fifth-straight title in the event across Olympics and World Championships. Shes kind of a freak athlete, said Lee Sommers, an athletic trainer in Bethesda, Md., who helped prepare Ledecky for Rio. Her combined 20 individual titles at the Olympics (6) and World Aquatics Championships (14) is also a record for female swimmers. Her strength-to-body mass ratio is probably in the top 98%.. Visit latimes.com/olympics now and throughout the Games for the latest Olympic news and analysis.