Ledecky finished her high-school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except the 100-meter breaststroke. Some said it would never happen. What stood out to me was nothing stood out physically, he said. Ledecky accepted an athletic scholarship to Stanford University, where she swam for coach Greg Meehan's Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team. The collision of hand and water is one piece of a complex, fast-paced puzzle in which the grab and breathing and body rotation and head position and kick and proper body alignment and arms cutting into the pool at the precise angle must work in concert. [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. Ledecky leaves some of the most experienced people in swimming grasping for the secret to her dominance. [66], Following the season, Ledecky became the first freshman in 35 years to receive the Honda Cup, which recognizes the nation's top female collegiate athlete.[67]. 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. Do not let it pass over you., Subscribers get early access to this story. [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. She also swam in the 100-meter freestyle heats. Twice each week, she trained against long-distance swimmers Liam Egan and True Sweetser. An iron will? The section also will be available for purchase at latimes.com/store. It might be easy to brush off the prediction as a fluke, but chance doesnt play much of a role when Ledecky is involved. The next day, Ledecky lowered her meet record, winning the 800-meter freestyle final by nearly 10 seconds (8:10.32). She has an elder brother. But within an hour of each other? 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. During a stint at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., in early 2016, Conor Dwyer, a two-time Olympian, engaged in a friendly contest with Ledecky jumping onto flat surfaces at increasing heights. During her career, she has broken sixteen world records. [11][12][13][14] Ledecky's mother is of Irish descent. The time: 55.66 seconds. [42] Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. 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. There were days where I wanted to tap my dad and say, Hey, can I just watch? Gemmell said. 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. [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. A similar picture covered the front of the building as the trials took place last month, another reminder that she is the face of the sport. Katie Ledecky's height is 6 feet tall and her body weight is 73 kilograms. At the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors with four American records as Stanford won its first conference title in four years. The world record margin for the 12 other individual events in the Olympic program is 0.44%. 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. We dont talk about it. The swim was the fifth-fastest in history and earned Ledecky the 28 fastest times in the distance. Her six individual gold medals are the most of any female Olympic swimmer and female US Olympian, and the second-most of all Olympic swimmers behind Michael Phelps. At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ledecky helped lead Stanford to its first team title since 1998. The next day, Ledecky anchored the United States team of Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. At 6 feet, the second-time Olympian is not extraordinarily tall compared with her peers. 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. The Washington athlete is also holds the 800m and 1500m freestyle world records, and owns 18 of the 20 fastest 1500m freestyle times ever. Ledecky was also named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2022, international female Champion of Champions by L'quipe in 2014 and 2017, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2017, Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2017, and the ESPY Best Female Athlete in 2022. [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. Ledecky is a 10-time Olympic medalist with seven golds. 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. If any single item is responsible for her transformation, the grueling sessions away from television cameras and autograph-seeking fans might be it. 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. 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. With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. [89], Ledecky began 2021 at the TYR Pro Swim Series at San Antonio, Texas. [88] Ledecky did not compete at any other events during 2020. Ledecky sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. 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. Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. Ledecky, who could reach only 21 inches a few years earlier, reached a personal-best 39 inches. At the Olympic trials last month, Greg Meehan, Ledeckys coach who leads the Stanford womens swimming program and the womens Olympic team, asked for a prediction. 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. 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. [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. 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. Coaches, teammates and competitors point to her powerful stroke, legendary training sessions, unusual blend of speed and endurance, and tenacity that is otherworldly. 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. She wasnt a great puller. 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. 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. General swimmers tend to think that if they can just get their arms around faster and kick their legs faster, they can swim faster. He describes them as holy cannoli swims that would leave almost anyone elses jaw on the floor. [16] Her uncle Jon Ledecky is a businessman and a co-owner of the NHL team New York Islanders. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. I dont think she had a clue how fast she was going. This is something really, really special.. Shes swimming faster than we are, said Urbanchek, coach to 44 Olympians and an assistant on six Olympic teams. 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. She is the daughter of David Ledecky and Mary Gen Ledecky. Michael Phelps, the 28-time Olympic medalist, called Ledecky the greatest female swimmer of our time.. 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. She is Unmarried. 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. [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 competes in the women's 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. Shes also remained remarkably healthy, aside from occasional illnesses, in a sport in which unrelenting training exacts a toll on the body. But she shows gratitude and appreciation and keeps people coming back to get their heads kicked in.. "Katie Ledecky is the student that takes 20 credits a semester at Harvard and gets a 4.0 every semester -- and nobody likes that person," said Elizabeth Beisel, a 2012 Olympic silver and bronze . Dwyer topped out at 40 inches. For lengthy races like the 1,500 meters, this must remain constant for more than 15 minutes. 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 got her degree instead", "What's Next For Super Olympian Katie Ledecky? The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan said. And not even appearing winded? Ledecky, who has broken the 4-minute barrier in the distance 20 times, thought she had been faster. TOKYO Katie Ledecky has won her first gold of the Tokyo Olympics, in the 1,500 meter freestyle race. 578k Followers, 883 Following, 422 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky) katieledecky. The top 11 times. She wasnt great at skills or drills we would try and teach her. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ledecky also emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete and became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48.