The swimming race that the whole world will be watching
NANTERRE, France—Katie Ledecky has been so dominant in the pool that even the best swimmers on Earth are happy simply to be in sight of her feet when she finishes a race. But as she prepares for her first event of the Paris Olympics, Saturday’s 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky finds herself in the unfamiliar position of underdog. And here’s the weirdest part: Of all the factors that have led to her newfound status, the biggest might be Ledecky herself.
Because she was so good for so long, Ledecky, 27, left the rest of the world with two choices: get faster—or get used to trailing in her wake. “She’s pushed the sport to different limits that people probably never thought could happen," said U.S. national team director Lindsay Mintenko.
“She’s raised the bar for everybody, plain and simple." For the first time since she emerged as a once-in-a-generation phenomenon a decade ago, Ledecky has company at the top of her sport. To win her eighth Olympic gold medal Saturday, she must beat her Australian nemesis, Ariarne Titmus, and Summer McIntosh, a Canadian teenager who is now the brightest young star in the sport. When the trio squared off last summer’s world championships, the Aussies dubbed it the “Race of the Century." Titmus touched the wall nearly three seconds ahead of Ledecky.
For the rematch in Paris, it will be something bigger, showcasing what looks like the past, present and future of women’s swimming. Ledecky’s unprecedented success in distance races comes from her ability to treat them like sprints. Most swimmers need to hold back in the early laps to stave off unbearable pain at the end.
Not Ledecky. She gets better the longer the race gets. Her aggressive race tactics became her superpower, and she used it to set a
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