It’s a good thing Katie Ledecky thinks competing against herself is fun.
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MacLean qualified earlier Sunday by finishing third in her heat and fifth overall swimming a 4:03.43, a new record in Canada.
“I knew it would be a tough race and obviously Katie raced for the world record and I was just trying to stick to her and have a great race”.
France took the silver in 3:10.53, while Australia claimed the bronze in 3:11.37, holding off a Russian team that was booed during the introductions – a reminder of the drug scandal that has rocked the nation. Sunday night, she was doing nothing but racing against the clock.
Ledecky had bypassed the 3:57s entirely.
Peaty’s new record time is a whopping 0.79secs quicker than the mark he set prior to the Games. This is the 12th world record she’s set since the 2012 London Olympics. She set it in August 2014, swimming 3:58.37.
“I knew I was the big favourite”.
Pennsylvania’s Leah Smith entered to Rio Olympics as a silver medal favorite in the Women’s 400-Meter Freestyle swim. No one but Ledecky has been under four minutes since 2009, and she has now done that nine times.
Peaty said: “She is one of the best coaches in the world, not just because she sends me up and down the pool each day, but she understands every athlete, she understands their needs and their character”. “I’m working to get faster”. “That’s what I wanted, and I had been so close to breaking that all year, the past two years. Hopefully, it shows up this week”.
American Ledecky customarily destroyed the field and raced away after the first turn, leaving the rest to fight for the medals.
Twelve hours later, she re-started her quest for five medals. Silver medalist Carlin Jazz of Great Britain was almost five seconds and some 10 meters behind Ledecky, finishing in 4:01.23. That was the largest winning margin in a women’s Olympic 400 freestyle since 1956.
Racing nothing but the clock, Katie Ledecky gave the US its first victory by crushing her own world record in the 400 freestyle.
And to conclude the night, the Americans hung on in the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay to earn the gold. “We’re going to sing our heads off during the national anthem”.
At 200m, the 25 year-old Welsh swimmer took control of the race for the second spot. Eighteen-time gold medalist Michael Phelps is expected to be part of the relay team in the final.
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When Ledecky saw the time, she let out an uncharacteristic scream and pumped her right fist.
