29 reasons why katie ledecky is a sporting icon: a reminder
she is the most decorated individual world champion of all time
she is the 2nd most decorated individual champion (behind only phelps) in the history of olympic swimming
she has set 14 individual world records in the olympic pool (2nd most all time behind, you guessed it—phelps). her biggest rivals, summer mcintosh and ariarne titmus, have set 2 each.
her first world record in the 800 free would no longer podium at the 2023 world champs. she still won this year by 4.5 seconds.
she has gone undefeated in the 800 free since london 2012...
...and undefeated in the 1500 free since barcelona 2013.
she won the singular 1500 freestyle at the 2014 pan pacific championships by 26 seconds, which the national team director called the best race he'd ever seen in his 50 years in the sport
she is the only swimmer to win four individual freestyle events (200, 400, 800, 1500 free in 2015) at a single world championships...
...and split a 52.7 100 free (same as olympic champion penny oleksiak) on the way to olympic silver in the 4x100 free relay.
she went a 3:56 400 free when everyone else was going 4:01
she went an 8:04 800 free when everyone else was going 8:16
she is still going 15:2X in the 1500 free when only one other woman in history has broken 15:40.
when she broke the 800 free WR in jan 2016, olympic finalist and worlds medallist leah smith had just turned for her final 50.
you think she only wins by big margins because she swims longer events? the men's 1500 at worlds was won by 0.05 seconds. ledecky won by 17.
what about in 2022, when gregorio paltrinieri routed the field on his way to the (then-)second fastest swim of all-time? he won by 4 seconds. in the women's race, ledecky won by 14.
she had an off meet at worlds in 2017 and won five gold medals.
she was hospitalised at worlds in 2019 and still won gold in the 800 free, in a time that was faster than anyone else in history.
she had an off Olympic meet, adding a combined 25 seconds in the 800 and 1500 free, and still won two individual gold medals.
people expected her to break the short course world record the first time she swam the 1500 scm freestyle. she defied expectations and ended up breaking it by nearly ten seconds.
she swam the third-fastest performance of all time in the short course 800 free...on her way to that world record swim in the 1500. to the feet.
TEN MINUTES LATER, she went a personal best 1:52.3 in the 200 free, becoming the third-fastest american of all time.
you still think she's washed in the sprints? her 200 relay split in tokyo was the fastest out of not just the US team, or the medalling teams, but out of all 32 swimmers in the final.
...and she went even faster in budapest 2022.
as a bonus, she's a national champion in the 400 IM — her fifth best event? that time would've won a world championship medal, and she doesn't even swim the event internationally.
hell, she was the one to break katinka hosszu's all-time record in the 400 yard IM and is still the #2 performer in history
and she's still getting better in her main events. ten years after her first WR, ledecky reset her us open record in the 1650 yard free ... which was the fastest in the country by 42 seconds.
at an age where most female distance swimmers have retired, she won the 2023 world championship in the 1500 free in a time that was two seconds faster than her world record in 2014.
because who else would not be at her best and still win AP Female Athlete (athlete, across all sports) of the Year?
because no one else has ever owned an event as she has in the 800 free. no one else, in anything, has ever had the top 29 times in history.
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