The young swimmer is planning to do the same after the Rio Games.
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There’s this thing called gravity; you know, the invisible force that keeps us bound to the earth. Vollmer is the defending Gold medalist in the 100 Fly and a favorite to medal in that event in Day 2. But it was her leg in which the US lost the lead before Cate Campbell, anchoring the Australians, turned on the afterburners and opened up a comfortable margin at the finish.
World champion and current 100m world record holder Adam Peaty of Great Britain will face a challenge from Americans Cody Miller and Kevin Cordes, and from South African Cameron van der Burgh.
“When she shows up to practice, she kind of slogs up the steps with her mesh bag and parka and boots, and you’re like, This is the best female athlete in the world?” In the 800 metres alone, the Washington, D.C. native has swum the 10 fastest times in history.
Ledecky already picked up her first medal of the games, anchoring the women’s 4×100 free relay to a silver-medal finish behind Australia on Saturday. Soon after her victory at London 2012, she was back at her local club supporting her teammates from the stands. Despite a push by the Federation Internationale de Natation, or FINA, the sport’s governing body, women do not compete in the 1,500 in the Olympics.
Sun had the fourth-quickest time of 3:44.23, behind top qualifier Conor Dwyer of the USA (3:43.42), Mack Horton of Australia and Gabriele Detti of Italy.
“It’s much more fun to have a relay as the first event”, she said.
In reality, the 800 and 1,500 are long shots to get added to the program because distance events aren’t super exciting to watch.
“I mean this in a positive way, but she doesn’t care”, her coach Bruce Gemmell said. “She’s an awesome young woman, who happens to swim”. “They set me up really well”. Victor of both 50 Free and 100 Free in the US Swimming Trials, Weitzeil will also race in those two events. We’re missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime display of versatility and athleticism. If Usain Bolt is a freak of nature with his unique running style, Biles is the masterpiece. World’s greatest athlete – pssh. The 200 in swimming corresponds most closely to the 800 in track. The comparison isn’t entirely fair: Yeah, they both are up for five medals in Rio.
Many runners try for an 800/1,500 double, while others opt for the 5,000/10,000 combo. “I take things one step at a time”. First came Chase Kalisz, the 22-year-old protégé of Michael Phelps, who swam his fastest time ever to win a silver medal in the men’s 400 individual medley. Nearly no one attempts the 200 and the 1,500.
Next up for the Stanford commit is the 400-meter freestyle on Sunday, an event in which she holds the world record. How realistic would a hypothetical 200/400/800/1,500 be for Ledecky?
Even with the last gasp efforts of Katie, they couldn’t get close to the Aussies as Cate Campbell managed to race ahead and break the world record for her team in the process.
She’s been doing the unthinkable ever since.
The next year, at the world championships in Barcelona, Ledecky dominated.
She “accidentally” set a world record in a preliminary heat of the 1500 at the 2015 World Championships. After all, she was not in peak form in Omaha, and with the 19-year-old capable of much more at the Olympic Games in Rio, why not give her a chance to bolster the unit. “It’s a good start to the meet”.
Ledecky finished seventh in the individual 100 freestyle at last month’s USA trials in Omaha, Nebraska while Phelps did not enter. Mastering the 100 in time for Tokyo in 2020 would be one way for Ledecky to demonstrate she’s the world’s most dominant swimmer, even if the International Olympic Committee won’t let her demolish the rest of womankind in her best event.
She is one of the most successful divers in history, having won eight world titles on top of her Olympic successes.
7 a.m.: On her way to pick Ledecky up from practice, mom Mary Gen has gone either to a deli in Bethesda to pick up a bacon-egg-cheese-tomato omelet with potatoes, to a bagel shop for a bagel with cream cheese and egg or to a coffee shop for yogurt and fruit (Katie Ledecky especially likes berries.) Ledecky eats in the auto, washing it down with chocolate milk.
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Rachael Larimore is an editor for Slate, which first published this column. But what other choice is the International Olympic Committee giving her?
