{"id":481412,"date":"2021-07-13T12:13:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T19:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=481412"},"modified":"2021-07-14T05:30:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T12:30:57","slug":"relaxed-katie-ledecky-ready-for-her-toughest-challenge-yet-in-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/relaxed-katie-ledecky-ready-for-her-toughest-challenge-yet-in-tokyo\/","title":{"rendered":"Relaxed Katie Ledecky Ready for Her Toughest Challenge Yet in Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Relaxed Katie Ledecky Ready for Her Toughest Challenge Yet in Tokyo<\/strong><\/p>\n

After a year-plus where nothing was normal, Katie<\/strong> Ledecky<\/strong> was finally in a spot that felt comfortable and familiar. The disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that the west coast-based Ledecky did not see her family on the east coast for more than a year before last month\u2019s Olympic Trials, and she still has not been back to her Maryland home since Christmas 2019. She spent months swimming in a backyard pool in the spring of 2020 and then entered a post-lockdown new normal including lots of social distancing and little travel.<\/p>\n

The Stanford squad typically takes multiple training trips each year, mostly to the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs, but that was a no-go since the pandemic began. So that\u2019s why the U.S. Olympic team\u2019s training camp in Hawaii had felt so refreshing and invigorating for Ledecky. Even over zoom (in a USA Swimming-organized media call), Ledecky\u2019s comfortable and relaxed demeanor at the camp was evident.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining, it\u2019s been great,\u201d Ledecky said. \u201cThis is like summer camp for me. It always has been, since London when I was 15. I love training, and I love this atmosphere, being able to train with the nation\u2019s best, whether that\u2019s swimming in a group in practice with people or racing the guys. We haven\u2019t been able to get out of our home training base this year, so I think it\u2019s been good to have a different environment, be able to train with different people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"katie

Katie Ledecky in 2012, when she qualified for her first Olympic team as a 15-year-old — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

London was Ledecky\u2019s first Olympics, and one of just two times in her career that she has arrived at an international meet as anything besides the favorite in an individual event. Back then, she was established as a youngster to keep an eye on after a surprising 800 free victory at Olympic Trials, but then she stole the show from hometown favorite Rebecca Adlington<\/strong> and earned her first Olympic gold.<\/p>\n

The next year, when Ledecky was 16 at her first World Championships in 2013, she was the pre-meet favorite in the 800 and 1500 free but not the 400 free. She promptly became just the second woman to break 4:00 on her way to her first world title in that eventlater that week, she broke the world records in the 800 and 1500 free for the first time.<\/p>\n

Two years later, Ledecky was the co-favorite in a hotly-anticipated women\u2019s 200 free at the 2015 World Championships, but it was no surprise to see her take down the likes of world record-holder Federica Pellegrini<\/strong> and defending world champion Missy Franklin<\/strong> and other impressive names. In every race for the rest of that Olympic cycle, leading into the 2016 Rio Games, everyone knew Ledecky was the headliner, and she was still unbeatable.<\/p>\n

Since Rio, Ledecky has been vulnerable. She did not win the 200 free at the 2017 World Championships or 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, and then came 2019, when Ariarne Titmus<\/strong> ran down Ledecky to steal the 400 free world title<\/a> in a stunner on the first day of the meet. The next day, Ledecky struggled through the 1500 free prelims before revealing that she was ill and scratching out of both the 1500 free finals and the entire 200 free.<\/p>\n

That was the first time in Ledecky\u2019s long and decorated career that she faced real adversity at a major meet. \u201cI think we all learn from past experiences,\u201d Ledecky said. \u201cI think it would be disappointing if I didn\u2019t take some lessons away from 2019.\u201d Part of that was finding ways of reducing her risk of getting sick in the future, but Ledecky also proved her own toughness and and resilience to herself and to the world.<\/p>\n

\"ariarne

Ariarne Titmus after winning a stunning gold in the 400 free at the 2019 World Championships — Photo Courtesy: Becca Wyant<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI just learned to be as tough as I can be at that stage being able to turn around my meet at the end of that meet in Gwangju. There were moments when I just wanted to fly home. I just didn\u2019t think I was going to be able to contribute to the relay, and my mile prelims, I thought I was going to have to get out halfway through, so I was a little nervous about my 800. I got up on the relay and threw down a pretty decent 1:54-mid split and just kind of rolled through the rest of the meet and came away with a gold in the 800 as well,\u201d Ledecky said, referring to the 800 free duel with Simona Quadarella<\/strong> that was arguably the gutsiest swim of her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I just showed myself that if something like that happens, I can tough it out. I really hope I don\u2019t have a similar experience anytime soon, but we\u2019re all human, and we all get sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ledecky\u2019s Olympic Outlook<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ledecky will arrive at the Tokyo Olympics with the strongest career r\u00e9sum\u00e9 of anyone at the aquatic center. That\u2019s no hyperbole\u2014while there will be some competitors who have swum at more Olympic Games, there are no others who have already clinched a spot in the discussion of the greatest swimmers ever. But right now, she does not look invincible, certainly not at the level of 2016, when Sarah Sjostrom swam one of the fastest performances ever in the 200 free and Ledecky still held her off.<\/p>\n

In the 800 free<\/a>, yes, Ledecky is poised to join Dawn Fraser<\/strong> and Krisztina Egerszegi<\/strong> as the only women to capture three straight Olympic gold medals in one event. She is heavily favored to win the inaugural Olympic gold medal in the 1500 free<\/a>. But defending her golds in the 400 free<\/a>, 200 free and 800 free relay will be tough, particularly with Australia\u2019s Titmus having recently swum the second-fastest times ever in both the 400 free (3:56.90) and 200 free (1:53.09), the 200 free with a mark much quicker than Ledecky has ever swum.<\/p>\n

During the Olympic Trials, both Ledecky and Greg<\/strong> Meehan<\/strong>, the head coach of the U.S. women in Tokyo and Ledecky\u2019s personal coach, insisted Ledecky was not getting too caught up in the hype of Titmus\u2019 performances, instead staying grounded and zeroed in on her own business. But Ledecky recognized the challenge Titmus would provide and felt eager to get in and race.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe swam really, really fast a couple weeks ago. Honestly, it was so awesome to see. She\u2019s really shown that she\u2019s really fast at the international meets, and I\u2019m sure she\u2019s going to be great in Tokyo. She\u2019s somebody that I love racing. I think we bring the best out of each other,\u201d Ledecky said. \u201cI know she\u2019s going to be fast, and I know she thinks the same of me. It\u2019s great to see the sport move forward, and she\u2019s definitely doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"katie-grimes-katie-ledecky-\"

Katie Ledecky and 15-year-old Katie Grimes finished 1-2 in the 800 free at the U.S. Olympic Trials — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p><\/div>\n

Today, the smart money on both individual races would be on Titmus in the 400 and 200<\/a> and on Australia in the 800 free relay. That\u2019s the by-the-book, on-paper race analysis. But Ledecky does have a track record of stepping forward when the odds are not in her favor, so maybe she can dig deep into that reservoir of greatness and produce some amazing swims. Would you really be shocked to see her deliver her best efforts in years on swimming\u2019s grandest stage, at the meet which all of this goal-driven athlete\u2019s goals have been pointing to?<\/p>\n

Of course, this Olympics will not be the experience Ledecky has come to know in London and Rio\u2014no fans and no families, strict COVID protocols ruling the day. Political controversy involving the International Olympic Committee has threatened to overshadow the athletic performances of the Games, which undeniably deserve the spotlight. Ledecky hopes the world can still see the Tokyo Olympics<\/a> as the special showcase they should be.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we\u2019re not having fans this summer, the world is still coming together,\u201d she said. \u201cAthletes and coaches and volunteers, everyone is getting together in this one city to pursue their goals they\u2019ve worked for for five years. I think that\u2019s a great thing. I know this is a made-for-TV Olympics, and I hope everyone around the world tunes in and recognizes the beauty of the work that all these athletes have put into in the last five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her first two experiences at the Olympic Games, Ledecky has risen to the occasion and recorded magical performances on both occasions that etched her name into the American and global sports lexicon. The challenge required to match or exceed all expectations in her third trip would be her greatest accomplishment yet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Relaxed Katie Ledecky Ready for Her Toughest Challenge Yet in Tokyo After a year-plus where nothing was normal, Katie Ledecky was finally in a spot that felt comfortable and familiar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":477831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,122077,17,122100,7],"tags":[34385,65138,27847,25031,6249,2455],"class_list":["post-481412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-americas","category-commentary","category-features","category-usa","tag-2020-tokyo-olympic-games","tag-ariarne-titmus","tag-greg-meehan","tag-katie-ledecky","tag-krisztina-egerszegi","tag-shane-gould"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nRelaxed Katie Ledecky Ready for Her Toughest Challenge Yet in Tokyo<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Katie Ledecky will benefit from five years of experience and lessons as she faces the Tokyo Olympics as not the favorite in several events.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/relaxed-katie-ledecky-ready-for-her-toughest-challenge-yet-in-tokyo\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Relaxed Katie Ledecky Ready for Her Toughest Challenge Yet in Tokyo\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Katie Ledecky will benefit from five years of experience and lessons as she faces the Tokyo Olympics as not the favorite in several events.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/relaxed-katie-ledecky-ready-for-her-toughest-challenge-yet-in-tokyo\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-13T19:13:22+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-14T12:30:57+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/katie-ledecky-o-trials-2021-5615.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rieder - 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