Jump to content

Katie Ledecky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Gap9551 (talk | contribs) at 23:05, 15 February 2016 (removed repeated information). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Katie Ledecky
File:Ledecky Kathleen 2015.jpg
Katie Ledecky in 2015
Personal information
Full nameKathleen Genevieve Ledecky
Nickname"Katie"
National team United States
Born (1997-03-17) March 17, 1997 (age 27)
Washington, D.C.
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight155 lb (70 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubNation's Capital Swim Club (NCAP)
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the United States
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 0 0
World Championships (LC) 9 0 0
Pan Pacific Championships 5 0 0
Total 15 0 0
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2012 London 800 m freestyle
World Championships (LC)
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2013 Barcelona 4×200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kazan 4×200 m freestyle
Pan Pacific Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Gold Coast 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Gold Coast 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Gold Coast 800 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Gold Coast 1500 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 2014 Gold Coast 4×200 m freestyle

Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (born March 17, 1997) is an American competition swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, and nine-time world champion. She is the current world record-holder in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle (long course). She also holds the fastest-ever times in the 500-, 1000-, and 1,650-yard freestyle events.

In her international debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won gold in the 800-meter freestyle in what was the second-fastest performance ever. In total, she has won fifteen medals in major international competitions, all of them gold, spanning the Summer Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. During her career, she has broken eleven world records.

Ledecky's success has earned her Swimming World's World Swimmer of the Year and the American Swimmer of the Year awards in 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well as the FINA Swimmer of the Year Award in 2013. Ledecky was also named the international female Champion of Champions by L'Équipe in 2014.

Personal life

Ledecky before her last individual high school race

Ledecky was born in Washington, D.C.,[1] to David Ledecky and Mary Gen Hagan. David Ledecky's father came to the United States from Czechoslovakia in 1947.[2] Ledecky began swimming at the age of six, due to the influence of her older brother, Michael. Her mother swam for the University of New Mexico. Ledecky resides in Bethesda, Maryland, where she graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015.[3] During her high school swimming career, Ledecky set the American and US Open record in the 500-yard freestyle twice, and also set the national high school record in the 200-yard freestyle twice. Ledecky finished her high school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except the 100-yard breaststroke.[4]

Through the summer of 2012, she trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club (formerly the Curl Burke Swim Club) under coach Yuri Suguiyama. She continues to train with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Bruce Gemmell. During the summers, she swims for Palisades Swim Team in Bethesda. Ledecky has accepted an athletic scholarship to attend Stanford University, where she will swim for coach Greg Meehan's Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team.[5]

Swimming career

2012 Summer Olympic Games

See also: Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics

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.[6] In Omaha, Ledecky also placed third in the 400-meter freestyle (4:05.00) and ninth in the 200-meter freestyle (1:58.66).[7][8] Her third-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle was the fastest time ever swum by a 15- to 16-year-old American, breaking the national age-group record previously held by Janet Evans.[9] At 15 years, 4 months, and 10 days, she was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.[10]

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.[11] In the final, Ledecky stunned the field, winning gold by more than 4 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.[12] In addition, she broke Janet Evans' American record of 8:16.22 that had stood since 1989. In the final, Ledecky went out hard and, by the 200-meter mark, she had already established an almost body-length lead. Her 400-meter split was 4:04.34, a personal best for Ledecky in that distance, and would have placed fifth in the individual 400-meter freestyle. At the 750-meter mark, Ledecky was 3.42 seconds ahead of Mireia Belmonte García, and 0.31 seconds under world record pace. Ledecky won by 4.13 seconds and just missed the world record by 0.53 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.

2013 World Championships

At the 2013 US National Championships, Ledecky qualified to swim in four individual events and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, though she later dropped the 200-meter freestyle from her program. At the National Championships, she finished first in the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, and second in the 200-meter freestyle.

Ledecky speaks to students at Rickard Elementary School in Williston, North Dakota.

At the 2013 World Championships, Ledecky won gold in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle, and in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, and set two world records. 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. 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.[13]

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.[14] In what was a hard-fought race with Dane Lotte Friis, Ledecky overcame Friis in the final few hundred meters after losing the lead at the 300-meter mark, which included a final 50 split of 29.47.

In her third, and first relay event of her international career, the 4×200-meter freestyle, Ledecky and teammates Shannon Vreeland, Karlee Bispo, and Missy Franklin won gold in 7:45.14.[15] Anchor Missy Franklin overtook Australian Alicia Coutts in the last 200 meters, giving the US the gold. Ledecky provided the US with an early lead, swimming the first leg in a personal best of 1:56.32.

In her fourth and last event, the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky won gold in a world record of 8:13.86, bettering Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10. 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.[16]

Ledecky scored more points than any other swimmer to earn the FINA trophy for best female swimmer of the meet.[17]

At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine.

2014

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. Despite being in season and swimming multiple events, Ledecky was able to first break the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:34.23,[18] bettering her previous mark of 15:36.53. Three days later, Ledecky then broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:11.00,[19] bettering her previous mark of 8:13.86.

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. 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. 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.[20]

Pan Pacific Championships

At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke two world records. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle and the 4×200-meter freestyle. Ledecky almost broke the world record in the 800-meter freestyle, finishing with a time of 8:11.35. Her world records came in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyles, with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. She became the first woman to win four individual gold medals at a single Pan Pacific Championship.[21]

Ledecky after breaking the 1500-meter freestyle world record at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships

In the 200-meter freestyle final, Ledecky had over a half-second lead on the field at the halfway point before winning by 1.46 seconds with a meet record time of 1:55.74. 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.[22]

The next day, Ledecky added her third meet record by swimming on the American 4×200-meter freestyle relay team with Shannon Vreeland, Missy Franklin, and Leah Smith. 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.

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. 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. Ledecky's winning time was over six seconds quicker than American teammate and silver medalist Cierra Runge.[23]

On the meet's final day, Ledecky set her fifth world record of the year, lowering her record in the 1500-meter freestyle by nearly six seconds with a time of 15:28.36. Ledecky swam the second half of the race faster than the first, completing the final 800 meters in 8:14.11—faster than any other woman has completed a regular 800-meter race in a textile suit.[24] Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. 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."[4]

During the championships' closing ceremonies, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet.[25]

At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.

2015 World Championships

At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. Her wins came in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4×200-meter freestyle. Her world records came in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyles. Ledecky is the first swimmer to win the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyles in a major competition.[26] Ledecky was also named the female swimmer of the meet.

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.[27]

Ledecky after her win in the 400-meter freestyle in Kazan

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.[28]

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. 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. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48.[29] Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76.[30]

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. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. Ledecky's final 50-meter split of 29.33 was the second-fastest in the field behind Pellegrini's 29.23.[31]

On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:55.64 and the Americans finished with an aggregated time of 7:45.37.

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.

Personal bests

As of January 16, 2016
Long course
Event Time Meet Date Note(s)
100 m freestyle 53.75 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series – Austin January 15, 2016
200 m freestyle 1:54.43 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series – Austin January 16, 2016
400 m freestyle 3:58.37 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships August 23, 2014 WR
800 m freestyle 8:06.68 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series – Austin January 17, 2016 WR
1500 m freestyle 15:25.48 2015 World Championships August 4, 2015 WR

World records

No. Event Time Meet Location Date Age
1 1500 m freestyle 15:36.53 2013 World Championships Barcelona, Spain July 30, 2013 16
2 800 m freestyle 8:13.86 2013 World Championships Barcelona, Spain August 3, 2013 16
3 1500 m freestyle (2) 15:34.23 2014 TWST Senior Invitational Shenandoah, Texas June 19, 2014 17
4 800 m freestyle (2) 8:11.00 2014 TWST Senior Invitational Shenandoah, Texas June 22, 2014 17
5 400 m freestyle 3:58.86 2014 National Championships Irvine, California August 9, 2014 17
6 400 m freestyle (2) 3:58.37 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Gold Coast, Australia August 23, 2014 17
7 1500 m freestyle (3) 15:28.36 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships Gold Coast, Australia August 24, 2014 17
8 1500 m freestyle (4) 15:27.71 2015 World Championships Kazan, Russia August 3, 2015 18
9 1500 m freestyle (5) 15:25.48 2015 World Championships Kazan, Russia August 4, 2015 18
10 800 m freestyle (3) 8:07.39 2015 World Championships Kazan, Russia August 8, 2015 18
11 800 m freestyle (4) 8:06.68[32] 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series Austin, Texas January 17, 2016 18

See also

References

  1. ^ Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes, Katie Ledecky. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  2. ^ Grim, Filip (August 1, 2013). "Pozor, vlny. Ve světovém bazénu řádí náctiletá kometa s českými kořeny". iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved August 26, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Amy Shipley, "U.S. Olympic swimming trials: Katie Ledecky, 15, earns surprising berth," The Washington Post (July 1, 2012). Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Dave Sheinin, "Katie Ledecky finishes high school career with Olympics, more world records in sight," The Washington Post (February 4, 2015). Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  5. ^ Bryan Flaherty, "Katie Ledecky commits to Stanford swimming," The Washington Post (May 15, 2014). Retrieved May 15, 2014
  6. ^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 800-metre freestyle (final)". Omega Timing. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  7. ^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 400-metre freestyle (final)". Omega Timing. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  8. ^ "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (swimming) – Women's 200 metre freestyle (semifinals)". Omega Timing. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  9. ^ Amy Shipley, "U.S. Olympic swimming trials: Katie Ledecky breaks Janet Evans's 400 freestyle age group record," The Washington Post (June 27, 2012). Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  10. ^ Associated Press, "More Women Than Men on U.S. Team," The New York Times (July 10, 2012). Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  11. ^ "Swimming at the 2012 London Summer Games: Women's 800 metres freestyle round one". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  12. ^ "Swimming at the 2012 London Summer Games: Women's 800 metres freestyle final". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
  13. ^ Newberry, Paul (July 28, 2013). "Katie Ledecky wins 400 freestyle at world championships". The Washington Times. Associated Press. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  14. ^ "Katie Ledecky smashes 1500m freestyle world record for a golden double". The Guardian. Associated Press. July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  15. ^ "15th FINA World Championships – Women's 4x200m Freestyle". Omega Timing. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
  16. ^ Svrluga, Barry (August 8, 2013). "Bethesda's Katie Ledecky sets world record in 800-meter freestyle, wins fourth gold medal of world championships". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  17. ^ Rogers, Iain (August 4, 2013). "Driving test looming for Ledecky after Barcelona splash". Reuters.
  18. ^ Daniel Gately (June 20, 2014). "Katie Ledecky World Record 1500 meter swim at 2014 TWST Senior Invite". YouTube. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  19. ^ Daniel Gately (June 23, 2014). "Katie Ledecky World Record 800 Meter Free at 2014 TWST Senior Invite". YouTube. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  20. ^ Nick Zaccardi, "Janet Evans sees parallels with Katie Ledecky," NBC Sports (August 14, 2014). Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  21. ^ Karen Crouse, "Katie Ledecky Sets World Record in 1,500-Meter Freestyle," The New York Times (August 24, 2014). Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  22. ^ Jason Marsteller, "Pan Pacific Championships, Results: Katie Ledecky Trounces Pan Pacs Record in 200 Free," Swimming World (August 21, 2014). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  23. ^ Jason Marsteller, "Katie Ledecky Smashes 400 Free World Record, Nearly Clears 3:58! (Pan Pacific Championships Results)," Swimming World Magazine (August 23, 2014). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
  24. ^ "LCM Women Records as of 2/21/2015," USA Swimming. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  25. ^ Elliott Almond, "Stanford-bound swimmer Katie Ledecky sets world record," San Jose Mercury News (August 25, 2014). Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  26. ^ Karen Crouse, "Katie Ledecky Wins 800 in Record Time, Completing World Championships Sweep," The New York Times (August 8, 2015). Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  27. ^ Jason Marsteller, "Katie Ledecky Making Sub-4:00 Look Pedestrian With Meet Record to Defend 400 Free Title at 2015 FINA World Championships," Swimming World (August 2, 2015). Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  28. ^ Karen Crouse, "Katie Ledecky Breaks World Record, Almost by Accident," The New York Times (August 3, 2015). Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  29. ^ "16th FINA World Championships – Women's 1500 metre freestyle (final)". Omega Timing. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  30. ^ "16th FINA World Championships – Women's 200 metre freestyle (semifinals)". Omega Timing. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  31. ^ Dave Sheinin, "Katie Ledecky expands world dominance with 200 freestyle title," The Washington Post (August 5, 2015). Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  32. ^ Flaherty, Bryan (January 17, 2016). "Katie Ledecky does it again, breaks world record in 800 free". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 18, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Katie Ledecky.
Records
Preceded by Women's 1500-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
July 30, 2013 – present 		Succeeded by

Incumbent
Preceded by Women's 800-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
August 3, 2013 – present 		Succeeded by

Incumbent
Preceded by Women's 400-meter freestyle
world record-holder (long course)
August 9, 2014 – present 		Succeeded by

Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Swimming World
World Swimmer of the Year
2013, 2014, 2015 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Missy Franklin
 FINA Swimmer of the Year
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Missy Franklin
 Swimming World
American Swimmer of the Year
2013, 2014, 2015 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by USOC Sportswoman of the Year
2012–13 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by L'Équipe Champion of Champions
2014 		Succeeded by
Serena Williams
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katie_Ledecky&oldid=705173067"