Katie Ledecky has a swimming strategy that should be impossible if it wasn’t for her
technique.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Ledecky wasn’t the favorite to win the 800 freestyle. She
qualified to the Olympic final with the third best time. Rebecca Adlington, from Great Britain,
was the crowd’s favorite of course but also the defending champion on this event and the
current world record holder. Lotte Friis had been Adlington’s main competitor for several
years and the world champion in 2009. Next to them Mireia Belmonte was having the best
swim meet of her life and had already won a silver medal in the 200 butterfly.
At the 100 meter mark, everyone wondered if
the inexperienced Ledecky would be able to keep up with the veterans since she just took
off from the beginning. At the 200 she was ahead of everyone by a body length, including
the world record pace. In events of 200 meters or more, some swimmers go out too fast only
to get fatigued by the middle of the race. Everyone watching expected this to happen
to Ledecky, but at the 400 mark Friis was the one that was hurting. Ledecky was still
one body length ahead of the world record and everyone else. Friis and Adlington simply
could not keep up with Ledecky’s pace. Mireia, who was the least affected by Ledecky’s
pace, must’ve felt amazing when she passed the two favorites.
With only 50 meters to go, Ledecky was below
the world record and ahead of Mireia Belmonte, by 3 and a half seconds. She managed to win
by more than 4 seconds. But that year, this courageous 15 year old, missed the world record
by 31 hundredths of a second.
The following year at the swimming world championships, she would compete in 3 individual events and
1 relay. Ledecky’s racing strategy sounds impossible to most of us. She says that “all
distances are a sprint. Some sprints are longer than others. " Katie’s freestyle technique
is what allows her to save energy. For most of the race she doesn’t use her legs that
much. Sometimes one kick per cycle. With her arms she has horse freestyle technique. This
means that one arm glides a little and the other doesn’t. This allows her to “jump”
a little while taking a breath. This technique gives her a rhythm that is not very aesthetic
but is very persistent. The muscles of her trunk and arms are perfectly adapted to withstand
this technique for long distances.
She broke the 800 and 1500 world record and she won all 4 events.
For the next 5 years, Ledecky's diet was based
primarily on world records. Record after record, after record, after record, after record.
Medal after medal after medal.
From 400 to 1,500 meters, no record was safe, not even her own. At the 2016 Olympics in
Rio, she knew she had no competition in the 400 and 800. So she decided to step down to
the 200 freestyle to compare her super abilities against the legendary shorter distance swimmers.
Sarah Sjostrom, Emma Mckeon, Federica Pellegrini, Bronte Barratt, Charlotte Bonnet.
Not having a top speed as high as theirs,
she passed the first 50 meters in 5th place. At the 100 meters she was already in second.
And she took the lead with only 50 meters to go. The last 50 meters is when the golden
Swede, Sarah Sjostrom, makes her attack. Ledecky won and was only a tenth of a second behind
the Olympic record. That year she won the 200, the 400 with a world record, the 800
with a world record and the 4x200 relay.
After 14 world records and 5 Olympic gold medals, we have never seen Ledecky compete
in her most dominant event on an Olympic stage. The female’s 1,500 freestyle will make its
olympic debut in Tokyo 2021. The active swimmer closest to Ledecky is currently 20 seconds
away from her. A lot of unexpected things happen at the Olympics. Just like the first
time Ledecky surprised us, we don't know if the world champion, Simona Quadarella or another
swimmer could surprise us.
What is certain is that until now there are only two people with 5 Olympic gold medals
(or more) in individual events in swimming. Michael Phelps and Kristina Egerszegi. We
will surely see Ledecky join this select group of two very soon.
If you liked this video, you can see more
by clicking here or here. See you there! Swim fast!
"What were you thinking during the race?"
"Nothing"