katie ledecky wingspan
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. 422 posts. That shows a mastery. [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. 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. 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. The stories pile up. Katie Ledekcy won two golds and two silvers at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Shes kind of a freak athlete. She keeps logbooks chronicling most of her practices dating to 2011. [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. 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. But she shows gratitude and appreciation and keeps people coming back to get their heads kicked in.. In keeping with Ledeckys low-key personality, the goals stayed between them. 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. [27] At 15 years, 4 months, and 10 days, she was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.[28]. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:55.64 and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:45.37. 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. The standards for her externally, I think, are just tough sometimes, Meehan 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. 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. Shes able to really lean into each arm, Sweetser said. They review the video together, as much for what he notices as her feedback. [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. If I have a bad practice, I dont let it get to me, Ledecky said. The questions pile up too. Ledecky recorded a split of 52.64 in the heats. 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. Follow. [126] She swam a 1:55.34 in the semifinals of the 200 meter freestyle and advanced to the final ranking third overall. [135] Ledecky earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time. Shes not doing it for the adulation, shes not doing it for the title of the worlds greatest swimmer, the coach said. 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. In the final, Ledecky went out hard and, by the 200-meter mark, she had already established an almost body-length lead. Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. 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. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine. [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. She has an uncanny ability to remain herself, not flinch in the face of scrutiny and focus on the task at hand. They were called watch times.. 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. 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. Ledecky's winning time was over six seconds quicker than American teammate and silver medalist Cierra Runge. 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). [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. Shes swimming in full dude territory, he said. Experts single out the way Ledeckys palm wraps about the water and pulls it back. 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. Katie Ledecky competes in the women's 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. [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. 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. [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. The next morning, Ledecky struggled through her preliminary heat of the 1500-meter freestyle despite qualifying first for the event's final. 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. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4200-meter freestyle. 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. During the 201617 NCAA season, Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University. Ledecky began 2016 at the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin. [57] Ledecky's final medal total (four golds, one silver) is the most decorated single-Olympics performance by a U.S. female athlete in terms of gold medals, topping Missy Franklin (2012; four golds, 1 bronze), Simone Biles (2016; four golds, 1 bronze), and Amy Van Dyken (1996; four golds). [69], On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. What transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? In her first event in Barcelona, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky became a world champion for the first time by winning in 3:59.82, setting a new American record and becoming the second-fastest performer of all time in the event.[31]. [119] Ledecky began her racing in the prelims of the 400 meter freestyle, ranking first overall with her time of 4:00.45 and advancing to the final. 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. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. She has recognition of these things in the middle of a race and can make an adjustment. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. The stroke thats propelled Ledecky to record after record is connected to another legend. Trust me. Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 seconds. 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. Ledecky, who has broken the 4-minute barrier in the distance 20 times, thought she had been faster. [107], On day 4, June 16, she won both the 200m and 1500m freestyle finals in the evening. 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. She set the record in the event nine months later in 8:13.36. [38], At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke two world records. [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. If any single item is responsible for her transformation, the grueling sessions away from television cameras and autograph-seeking fans might be it. [123] This was Ledecky's first loss in an individual event at the Olympics. [130] Ledecky won her second gold medal of the Olympics and her seventh of all time in the 800-meter freestyle. A post shared by Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky). Dinner. [129] She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the prelim round still holds. 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. 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. Ledecky sometimes texts her mother, Mary Gen, or brother, Michael, after a particularly good set. 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. 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. On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay. Relief seemed to be the main emotion that sunk into Katie Ledecky's face as she touched the wall to claim her first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics.. Ledecky's victory in the 1500m freestyle . [132][133] Additionally, Ledecky signed on to be a volunteer swim coach for the Florida Gators. The American . [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. 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. Trust me, Gemmell said. It worked. [87] Ledecky withdrew from the 800-meter freestyle race due to illness. 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. Thats whats allowing her to get such a good grab of the water and have such good force generation per stroke.. 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]. 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. She has an elder brother. Take the 400 freestyle final at the trials. The same all-out approach Ledecky brought to the final 25 meters of the 200 freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics she edged Swedens Sarah Sjostrom by .35 seconds for gold despite feeling queasy happens regularly in practice with nothing at stake other than numbers on a clock. [97][98][99][100] This accomplishment was highlighted by various news outlets including NBC Sports, Newsweek, and USA Today. More recently, in the 1,500 at the Olympic trials, again, except . 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. Katie Ledecky was born on 17 March 1997 in Washington, DC, United States. A swimmer needs ample strength for this approach to work. With her pair of swims in the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky took control of the top 11 fastest times in the event's history. The girl couldnt make it across the pool. [136], On the first day of competition, Ledecky won the 400-meter freestyle in a championship record 3:58.15, besting Canadian silver medalist Summer McIntosh by 1.24 seconds. 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. 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.. 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]. Coming Sunday: Home subscribers will receive the Los Angeles Times 24-page Olympic preview section, your guide to the upcoming Games. Athlete. Ledecky's supremacy is not born of any freakish physiological gifts such as Phelps' enormous wingspan or double jointed ankles. In the 1650-yard freestyle, Ledecky re-set her NCAA record in the 1000-yard free with a split of 9:05.89 en route to winning by more than 28 seconds. [131], Following the Olympic Games on September 22nd, Ledecky announced her intention to train with coach Anthony Nesty at the University of Florida. 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. This started as a child. She reset her American, NCAA, and U.S. Open records in the 800-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relay and won a meet-best five race titles overall. Not a drop of milk spilled. Katie wants to win by the most massive margin possible, but I dont think she wants to break anyones soul like Michael Jordan did. 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. Instead, Ledecky has a gift that defies measurement. 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. (RNS) Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. Sims anchored the team to a championship record time of 7:41.45. This was Ledecky's first international loss in a final in individual event. Ledecky almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 8:11.35. Her win was made even more impressive by the fact that, per her Team USA . She has the 24 fastest swims of all time. They swam identical workouts. 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. 578K followers. Ledecky was a USA Olympic team member in 2012, 2016, and 2020, and holds the female record for most individual gold medals (14) and overall gold medals (19) at the World Aquatics Championships. 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. The 800? Ledecky's six individual gold medals at the Olympics, 14 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and 22 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships are records in women's swimming. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. Thank you for your support. Rio Olympics: Katie Ledecky dominating in run-up to Games View Photos Bethesda teen will swim four events in Rio. That continued when Ledecky arrived at Stanford as a freshman in 2016. [74] She signed with Wasserman sports agent Dan Levy for representation.[75]. Thats key to her success. While every distance swimmer grinds through thousands of monotonous yards each week, these sessions are somehow different for Ledecky. Ledecky breaking an arm in fourth grade, but jumping back into the pool with a cast. [55], Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. [19], In December 2016, Ledecky was chosen as one of the sponsors of the US Navy aircraft carrier USSEnterprise alongside gymnast Simone Biles. 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. 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. 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. Katie Ledecky studied at Stanford University. Ledeckys world records in the 800 freestyle and 1,500 freestyle are 1.95% faster than the second-best women. The traits, at least individually, arent uncommon in elite swimmers. 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. Twice each week, she trained against long-distance swimmers Liam Egan and True Sweetser. [44] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet. Most of the time she didnt. We want to know what transformed that girl who couldnt make it across the pool? She feels water better than anyone else has ever felt water, Barbini said. We dont talk about it. So did Phelps asymmetrical stroke thats known as galloping or loping and is common among high-level men. 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.
