Ledecky, Smith Dominant and Stunning 1-2 Punch

Ledecky Smith
Katie Ledecky and Leah Smith. Photo Courtesy: Dan D'Addona

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By Dan D’Addona.

Katie Ledecky didn’t need to use her legs much to cruise to a top seed in the 500 preliminaries at the NCAA women’s championships.

What a difference her legs made in the finals.

Ledecky, a Stanford freshman and five-time Olympic gold medalist, again crushed the NCAA, American and U.S. Open record to win the 500 freestyle in 4:24.06 — her first individual NCAA title — on Thursday in Indianapolis.

“I was just excited. I wanted to get the team fired up,” Ledecky said. “This morning, I really set my stroke up and planned it so I was swimming with my first 100-feel. I have been working on keeping that rhythm. I am really happy with it. It just shows the excitement of the meet. I wanted to leave it all in there.”

katie-ledecky-leah-smith-400-free-final-2016-rio-olympics

Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

Her Olympic teammate, Leah Smith of Virginia, surged to second place, finishing in 4:28.90. It was Smith’s first time under 4:30 and her swim was second fastest in history behind Ledecky’s one lane over.

It was perhaps the most dominating 1-2 performance in NCAA history. But it was almost to be expected with the way Ledecky and Smith performed at the Olympics in Rio.

But the stunning times were not expected with the first two swimmers in history under 4:30.

“I remember when my goal was to break 4:30, then I went 4:28, then 4:26,” Ledecky said. “I have been taking it step by step and finding new ways to swim it, kind of experimenting. I have found how to swim it and have stuck with it. I am happy with how it went.”

So was Smith.

“I was super excited,” Smith said. “I was just really happy. My best time is from my second year, and I swear, it is every single time I swim it, I want to break it. Every time I have tried to break 4:30, I have taken it out too fast. Tonight was my last collegiate 500 ever.”

Ledecky was equally thrilled to see her Olympic teammate go under 4:30.

“I said to her at the end, ‘Welcome to the club,” Ledecky said. “It is one of the most exclusive clubs in short-course swimming. I was really happy for her. I have seen her go 4:30 every year and watching, I have been hurting for her knowing she has that swim in her. I know she was thrilled to bust through that 4:30.”

The two distance specialists are friendly competitors and became close friends while training together for Rio last summer.

“There is a two-person club now,” Smith said. “Our relationship is really good. I have so much respect for her. We had a month together before Rio and just seeing how she brings her ‘A’ game to every single practice. It kind of legitimizes everything she does, because she works so hard.”

But it is Ledecky’s impact on the sport overall that is her legacy.

“Katie just raises the stakes and makes these new goals for everyone,” Smith said. “I think 4:30 is something I wanted to achieve since I was little, but now she has pushed past that. There are new things. There could be a second woman under 4:25. I think it is cool that she has done that for the sport. She has made a lot of people’s goals a lot higher.”

Check out full results from Day 2 here.

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Joel Dodds
7 years ago

Katie is just off the charts, but I think Leah had the better relative swim. Congratulations to both of them on continuing to raise the bar for women’s distance freestyle!

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