Bruce Gemmell Analyzes Katie Ledecky’s 1500 Free World Record (SW Radio)

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien

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After his star swimmer Katie Ledecky broke her own world record in the 1500 freestyle at the FINA world championships, Bruce Gemmell talked with members of the media about the swim and the preparation that went into her performing better than anyone expected.

Listen To Interview On Swimming World Radio

Below are a few notable quotes from the interview:

“There was zero discussion about being aggressive today and saving something for tomorrow.”

“She’s such a beautiful, natural swimmer that when she lets that (intensity) go some of the time, she’s more efficient in the water.”

“The good about Katie, and what’s good to her success is we’ve put very few numbers on anything. We’ve just talked about the things that we need to do better.”

“Whether it’s five years from now, or 15 years from now, or 35 years from now, someone’s going to come along and go 15:10 (in the 1500 freestyle). I’m almost sure of it.”

“She’s driven to get better. She’s not afraid to challenge herself. She’s not afraid of failure, but failure is not an option.”

“We talked about it (doing the 1500 free final-200 free semfinal at worlds). She wanted to do it. She saw it as a new challenge, and I think it goes right along those lines of she’s not afraid to fail. If she happens to fall flat on her face trying to do it, that’s OK. But I wouldn’t bet against her.”

“She would love to do open water, and that is complete sarcasm. I have broached it with her a few times, but she said ‘No, I’m perfectly comfortable with where I am.’”

“Our preparation is really for the 400 and 800, and we get what we get in the 200 and 1500. I will claim to this day that we don’t train for the 1500. Some people give me a hard time about that, but that’s not really the focus of our training at any point.”

“Being a high school senior, there’s potential for a lot of distractions, and she’s so good at minimizing them. Being a high school senior, she finished her academic requirements much earlier in the spring than she would have been her junior or sophomore year. So, we were able to get a jump on that.”

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Dunera Rahel Ilako

8 years ago