One of swimming's all-time greats has continued to finish at the top of her heat in Tokyo, breaking Olympic records and so far winning a silver medal.
Katie Ledecky has repeatedly told interviewers that she competes against herself and her own times rather than other athletes. This may be true in the USA swimmer's mind, however we can't help but compare her to some of the most dominant swimmers to ever be involved in the sport.
Michael Phelps on Katie Ledecky
Takes one to know one. #TokyoOlympics \n\nCC: @MichaelPhelps, @katieledeckyhttps://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1419460717258940416\u00a0\u2026— Team USA (@Team USA) 1627263412
The most decorated Olympic athlete of all-time has repeatedly called Ledecky the greatest female swimmer of all-time. This is obviously a great honor and holds a lot of truth when it is coming from the swimming legend himself, Michael Phelps. Even besides this, we can just look at Ledecky's wins and see how dominant she truly is and was.
She had never lost a single individual Olympic event until her race yesterday against Australia's Ariarne Titmus in the women's 400m freestyle.
Titmus Beats Out Ledecky For The Gold
THAT FINISH \n\nAriarne Titmus knocks off Katie Ledecky and wins gold in the women\u2019s 400m freestyle \n\n(via @NBCOlympics)pic.twitter.com/O9huu2DzWU— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) 1627266747
The Australian swimmer has been making big strides in recent years and she managed to beat Ledecky on the biggest stage this time. Ledecky finished with her second-fastest time ever for the event, the third-fastest time in history, but it wasn't enough to beat the sport's next rising star.
This was undoubtedly a hard loss for the legend, however she is a total class act and in her post-interview said:
"I'm proud of how I swam, proud of how I got to that point and you know, it's not an easy journey, it's never an easy journey to the podium... It was a tremendous race; it was a thrill to be a part of and I'm sure it was a thrill to watch... It's such an honor to race somebody like Ariarne, and for us to go two really really fast times, you can't be disappointed with silver and yeah. It was just a thrill to be a part of."
Ledecky still has a chance at multiple golds and remains a favorite in those races. You can catch her in the 200m, 800m, and 1500m freestyle events.
Ledecky Breaks Olympic Record
It's an OLYMPIC RECORD for @katieledecky as she wins her heat in the 1500m freestyle. \n\n15:35.35 \n\n#TokyoOlympicspic.twitter.com/jw29Dfu1FP— #TokyoOlympics (@#TokyoOlympics) 1627302574
The legend has already bounced back from her 400m freestyle loss by breaking the Olympic record for the 1500m freestyle in her heat. Ledecky is still looking fantastic as she competes against new rising stars and we are watching history in the making at every event.
Ledecky is a 6-time Olympic medalist, 15-time World Championship winner, the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Rio games, and has broken 14 world records. The star's dominance will not stop after one loss, expect to see some golds and be excited that we get to witness one of swimming's all-time greats this year.
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