Shortly before Ledecky swam, former Cal swimmer Dana Vollmer capped off a sweet comeback story by winning a bronze medal barely a year after giving birth to her first child. Teammate Ibtihaj Muhammad will become the first U.S. Olympic athlete to compete in a hijab.
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When Ledecky saw the time – 3 minutes, 56.46 seconds – she let out an uncharacteristic scream and shook her right fist.
Arms aloft and waving his finger, Michael Phelps left nobody in doubt just who was No. 1 Tuesday. Everyone wants to swim their best at the Olympics.
History and Phelps said otherwise.
With her performance on Sunday, Ledecky has now set the bar very high for the 400-meter freestyle, with a very impressive time of 3:35.46. He will become the first three-time gold medalist on the men’s side if the USA wins. Both made their first Olympic team at age 15. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to see most of the field on the last 50, so I just had to dig deep”.
“It’s so hard knowing all the work you put in everyday and then to get here and be so far behind where you feel like you can be”, she said, her eyes tearing up.
When Ledecky says something “bodes well for tonight”, the swimming world knows to be on world record alert. The silver went to Sjostrom in 1:54.08, while early leader Emma McKeon faded to the bronze in 1:54.92. “I just wanted to hammer it, hit the touch and give them a bigger lead”.
Britain’s Peaty set his second world record in consecutive days, and seemed surprised by the margin of his victory – 1.56 seconds – over defending champion Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa. She already has a gold and a silver from these Games.
Such was the case again Sunday night when Ledecky, the Stanford-bound, 19-year-old from Bethesda, Md., opened her bid to win three freestyle gold medals at these Olympic Games with a world-record-destroying victory in the 400 final at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium.
“It’s pure happiness”, the 19-year-old told reporters.
After five hours of sleep, Phelps said he actually felt rather fresh for the afternoon preliminaries.
Her best at the moment isn’t anywhere close to the form she showed four years ago. “We had some sour tastes in our mouth, for me, in 2012, and I’m glad it’s back on our soil”. She was a bronze medalist in France’s 800 free relay but looks to be a non-factor in terms of the medals.
Peaty won in 57.13 seconds, but he wasn’t the only one celebrating. That final will take place on Monday.
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Her biggest opponent was the clock as she won in 3:56.46 to take nearly two seconds off her previous mark before screaming and punching her fist in celebration.
