Katie Ledecky on Continued Pursuit of Greatness: ‘I Love The Sport Too Much’; 2028 Olympics in Picture

Katie Ledecky -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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Katie Ledecky on Continued Pursuit of Greatness: ‘I Love The Sport Too Much’

The last time Katie Ledecky had a poor season? Pretty much never. Sure, there were meets along the way, even significant international meets, that did not live up to the insane standard of gold-medals-in-everything that she established for herself during her teenage years, but Ledecky has always shown up at big meets and performed. In the distance events, she has been and remains invulnerable. The consistency year-to-year has been impeccable — and unmatched.

Consider the great female swimmers in history: Dawn Fraser, Tracy Caulkins, Janet Evans, Krisztina Egerszegi and even Ledecky’s contemporaries such as Katinka Hosszu and Sarah Sjostrom. Not one of these women maintained an undefeated streak in two events over a decade.

Even Michael Phelps, the undisputed greatest swimmer in history, had rough spurts. Phelps missed significant training time prior to the London Olympics, and that cost him a chance at a third consecutive gold medal in his signature event, the 200 butterfly. He was at the center of multiple outside-the-pool controversies, including one that cost him a spot on the 2015 World Championships team.

Ledecky, missing practices regularly? Controversy? Never.

The one moment when it appeared as if Ledecky was missing her invincibility was at the 2019 World Championships, when Ariarne Titmus overtook Ledecky in the 400 freestyle final and pulled away to win gold. It was a surreal moment, but Ledecky soon revealed she was ill, and she withdrew from the final of the 1500 free and from the 200 free altogether.

She finally returned to the pool late in the week to swim the 800 free, a race that will surely become a key point as Ledecky prepares for her shot at winning her sixth world title in the event, an accomplishment no swimmer female or male has ever notched.

“I try to be consistent, and I really love the 800 free, so it’s fun to just have that opportunity,” Ledecky said. “If you look back, I gave myself that opportunity by gutting it out at 2019 at Worlds in Gwangju.”

claire-weinstein-katie-ledecky-bella-sims-

Ledecky (center) with Bella Sims & Claire Weinstein at U.S. Nationals Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Ledecky battled that day with Italy’s Simona Quadarella, fresh off a gold medal in Ledecky’s absence in the 1500. The two swam neck-and-neck for 15 laps, but Ledecky saved enough energy for one final surge. She split 29.19 over the last 50 meters for gold medal No. 4 of her run.

Now, at age 26, Ledecky finds herself in two very different worlds of competition. After she finished fifth in the 200 free at the Tokyo Olympics, she has now eschewed the individual event for two consecutive World Championships, and in the 400 free, she is one of the heavyweights in one of swimming’s most anticipated showdowns in recent memory, joining Titmus and the 16-year-old Canadian who broke the world record earlier this year, Summer McIntosh. That race could produce the first-ever 3:55 performances after all three women have held the world record in the 3:56-range.

But in a USA Swimming-organized conference call with Ledecky and media members Saturday, Ledecky demurred on the idea that this 400-meter race would be a historic moment all that different than in her five previous Worlds appearances.

“We’ll see where that race will go,” Ledecky said. “I think the next thing you’ll probably see is more and more people getting under 4:00. I hope that’s the case. I think that will be the case. I think there’s a good chance that might happen next week. At some point, I think you can go under 4:00 and not medal. That’s really exciting for me, to see how far that event has come.”

But on the other end of the racing spectrum, Ledecky’s dominance in the distance races continues. At U.S. Nationals, she finished behind Claire Weinstein in a tight 200 free finish before winning the 400 free in a mark two seconds outside her season best, but she shined in the 800 and 1500, swimming her fastest mark since the 2016 Olympics in the 16-lap race (8:07.07) and her quickest mark in three years in the mile (15:29.64). No one else in history has come close to either of those marks. She remains the enormous favorite for world titles in both events.

Success in the distance races cannot be accidental. Too much volume and intensity in training is required for a swimmer to stumble upon these times without absolute dedication to her craft. And Ledecky has been able to sustain this because of her attitude toward the sport.

“The biggest thing for me is just to continue to work hard,” Ledecky said. “I know that’s a cliché statement, but year after year, trying to put in the work and just taking baby steps in terms of the progress. There have been a lot of years where I haven’t gone a world record in certain events. It took a little time to realize, ‘Hey, my records are set at a really high standard,’ and even through all that, I think what I’ve been able to do is recognize the progress that I make in training. I don’t think a year has gone by where I haven’t felt like I progressed in some way in training.”

It’s been obvious for more than a year that training at the University of Florida under coach Anthony Nesty and with a group including male U.S. Olympians Bobby Finke, Kieran Smith and Caeleb Dressel has been rejuvenating for Ledecky. Returning to racing men in practice has provided a spark for her to chase.

Her sense of contentment is such that when a reporter asked Ledecky about the five-year countdown to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Ledecky openly offered the tidbit that she did not plan to stop swimming after the 2024 Games, even if she would be 31 by the time LA beckoned.

“I can say pretty confidently that I will not be done in 2024,” Ledecky said. “I don’t see myself hanging it up after next year. I just love the sport too much right now that I can’t wrap my head around being done next year. LA is definitely in the picture. I can’t fully commit to it at this point in 2023, but if I’m still loving it, if I feel like my body can do it, I think I would give it a shot.”

At the recent U.S. Nationals, several of Ledecky’s fellow U.S. stars talked openly about their mental health struggles. Dressel recently took eight months away from the sport to recapture his passion for training and racing. Regan Smith discussed building back up from the immense pressure she faced in the leadup to the one-year-delayed Tokyo Olympics, and Lydia Jacoby chronicled the post-Olympic depression that derailed her 2022 season.

Katie Ledecky — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

For Ledecky, balance has been the answer. Without balance in her life, passions and people outside of the pool to occupy her time and energy, Ledecky would never be able to maintain the proper perspective on the sport and a connection to the joy that swimming has brought her for two decades.

Without balance, Ledecky would not have built unassailable legacy, with the chance to win six world titles in one event and, in one year, the opportunity to chase a fourth consecutive Olympic gold, an accomplishment no swimmer other than Phelps has ever reached.

But amid this chase for history and the anticipated nature of this upcoming 400 freestyle race, the most unique aspect for Ledecky at these World Championships is the chance to race with Erin Gemmell, the daughter of Ledecky’s former coach Bruce Gemmell. Ledecky met a six-year-old Erin back in the fall of 2012 when Bruce became her coach, and now, Erin has become one of the top 200 freestylers in the country, a key member of the 800 free relay Ledecky has been part of for more than a decade.

“I remember when the family moved to Maryland, Bruce said she was just dabbling in swimming, just like any other kid, playing lots of different sports, and wasn’t sure if she was going to take the swimming path like her older brother (2012 Olympian Andrew Gemmell) and her parents, but obviously she did, and she’s continued to get better and better,” Ledecky said.

“It’s been so cool to have a front-row seat to that and to be in a lane next to her numerous times now, and we’re on a relay together this summer. It’s pretty surreal to have the that opportunity. I get goosebumps when we start practicing relay starts as a group. It’s just going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to cherish those memories of course.”

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SETH

10 months ago

Just curious, has Ms.Ledecky ever competed in open water competitions?

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John Lohn - Editor-in-Chief

10 months ago

Reply to SETH

Seth, in terms of competition, I don’t believe so. I also recall her saying at one point that she has no interest. It’s interesting considering the way Wellbrock, Paltrinieri and Romanchuk have embraced OW, along with Grimes.

Seth

10 months ago

Reply to John Lohn - Editor-in-Chief

Those above-mentioned swimmers made me wonder about that, thanks for your response!