Olympic champion Katie Ledecky dominates the men, USA National Team men, in swim practice. I think we all suspected this at the club level, but not among elites. That’s brutal, and so awesome.
We all marvel at Ledecky’s talent. It comes across as earned, hard-fought, not a genetic gift. While she was clearly born to win, she’s logged endless hours working pace. That should be her T-shirt. JUST WORK YOUR PACE. It’s all she says when we, the media, press her about details on practice.
Many thanks to Conor Dwyer for this insider’s point of view on Ledecky Dominance. He should be her dedicated swim-analyst going forward!
We’re inside the eight week window on U.S. Olympic Trials. While Ledecky doesn’t need to rest enough to break another world record in-season, before Trials, I think it’s possible. Do you? If so, in what event? I think she could lower her 1500m free world record before Trials. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
You can follow Katie Ledecky on Twitter here.
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
As for creating the marathon for women 30 years ago which created the athletes for the marathons. I agree. But it,s not as if the women,s 1500 free doesn’t have great athletes (swimmers) now.
Perhaps to even the playing field, ledecky should swim against the men even if there,s a 1500 free event at the Olympics for women.
So create a 1500 free event for women but shift ledecky to the men,s event. She,s breaking the guys in training so she should do well against the guys and let the other women compete against each other since they can’t keep up with her.now this will actually make the women,s race exciting.
Lane four thank you for reminding me. I didn’t say they shouldn’t allow the 1500 free for women at the Olympics. I said they can’t allow it for a superfluous reason. Just bcos of one woman. Give a better reason. And outside of ledecky no woman is lighting up the 1500 free so even if they allow it at the Olympics ( which I want), there won’t be any excitement bcos it won’t be much of a race and non swimming fans or casual swimming fans will be dozzing off during the race.
The men,s race however will be competitive.
There,s sun yang, gregorio Paltrinieri, mack Horton, Connor Jaeger and ryan Cochrane. We will have an actual race that… Read more »
I’m impressed by your ability to shrug off the idea of a women’s Olympic 1500m, and ask for a men’s 800m, in the same post.
Just because KL is years ahead then we should not have a 1500m race in the Olympic? She is so far ahead when she broke WR in 800m, shall we not have the 800 either?
The ask for adding men’s 800m in Olympic to see fast racing/time is the same as asking for women’s 1500m – when an event become Olympic event, the draw for talent and training is very different from what an non-Olympic event is.
The rest of us are excited by what KL is doing in changing distance swimming for swimmer or non-swimmer alike. Think of her 1500 m WR at preliminary at World’s.
I could see Ledecky going 1:53 in the 200 at or before trials. I think she is still figuring out how to swim that race. Her 1:55.0 from worlds was a very nervous-looking race. She has the speed now in the 100. Huge upside for her in the 200.
Here’s to hoping Ledecky can become the first woman to crack 8:00 in the 800m long course. Maybe after the Olympics broadcasts this made for TV moment, they will switch gears to the womens 1500m freestyle so Ledecky can have a shot at being the first woman to crack 15:00 in that one too.
Paolo I agree.
Gregorio Paltrinieri is as tough as nails. I remember his incredible 5000 meters free race. Dude is the toughest long distance swimmer right now. The problem is he lacks sprint speed to crack sun yang,s wr at the moment. But that dude can break anybody.
Trying to consider another side of the question, this is not a great accomplishment for the endurance/toughness of Usa men training with Ledecky.
For instance, I am pretty sure that both Paltrinieri and Detti would dominate Ledecky in swim practice, and I always remind the 400im at Melbourne2007, when Luca Marin, because of his endurance far better than the two Usa rivals, gained a silver just 3 second and a half behind Phelps and in front of Lochte.
If Phelps had had Marin’s endurance, he would have swum at least a 4.00 instead a 4.06.., it’s incredible how much faster were Phelps’ (and also Lochte’s obviously) PBs in every stroke as regards Marin’s PBs.
In swimming toughness… Read more »
One slight problem with this reply: Marin got 3rd at 2007 worlds, not second. He finished behind Lochte.
Oh, and that Phelps swam him to a stalemate the last 100 (beat him by .03, actually).
But other than that, you nailed it.
My mistake, sorry.
Right, Marin finished behind Lochte for just 14 hundredths of a second. (I reminded Marin as a “virtual second”)., and less than 4 seconds behind Phelps.., really incredible considering Marin’s PBs and Phelps’ and Lochte’s PBs in every single stroke.
Not sure I get what you really mean – KL’s hard work in training is inspirational for men and women. It shows how hard she worked to achieve her jaw dropping result (note: her result is not surprise to her) and athletes around the world should be inspired to push to reach their next level. Like the video said, it is a threshold set and she worked to finish the set while kept up with the guys. The ones drop out are just not having the fitness.
It’s totally obvious that KL is hard-working, tremendously hard-working! Who’s denying that?
I wrote an obviousness (sorry again for the mistake about Marin/Lochte in 2007, but the meaning remains: just 14 hundredths of a second..): there’s a physiological difference between men and women, and if Ledecky dominates elite Usa male swimmers, this isn’t a great accomplishment for these elite Usa male swimmers.
Ok the distance specialization, but Dwyer is swimming and training also for 400 free (and 400im, particularly in the past). He can’t be dominated by Ledecky if his fitness is there. Other Usa famous swimmers can’t be dominated by Ledecky if their fitness is there.
End of the obviousnesses.
Maybe Luca Marin should have been a lot “tougher” in his daily fly training, that way he wouldn’t have started that race 7 meters behind phelps after the fly leg. Just sayin’.
Funny comment.. In the single stroke, natural swimming gifts make a huge difference, nearly useless to point out such an obviousness.
Do you know what was Marin’s PB in the 200 fly? Over 2.minutes. Phelps’ PB, and WR, swum at Melbourne was 1.52.09.
So, if Phelps turns at 100m in 55″ low and Marin in 60″ who swims “easier”?
And in every single stroke Marin had a negative gap (even if not so wide like in fly) towards both Phelps and Lochte
Mel, I absolutely believe she has it in her to break the 1500 wr before trials. But my biggest question is where? I don’t think she’s slated for Charlotte, and maybe she’ll do Santa Clara. Even if she did both, women don’t swim the 1500 at the pro swim series (I hate calling them the PSS btw, they’ll always be grand prix meets to me). Also, given that her focus for Rio is on the 200-800 (and the 100 as I suspect), will she even try to swim the 1500 before trials?
Let her swim it as exhibition at Trials with the guys.
She’ll break some of them in front of a stadium full of people.
She is not afraid of swimming with guys and she is just doing what she needs to do. She doesn’t pay attention and doesn’t care. But the guys can’t help comparing themselves against her. It is awesome to focus to be the best you can and not thinking too much of what everyone else is thinking.
Melanie they can’t allow women to swim the 1500 free just because of one woman. They have to allow it for a more acceptable reason.
And if men were allowed to swim the 800 free at the Olympics that 7:32 wr will be faster. Men hardly swim the 800 free. They hardly even train for it. I almost want the men to be allowed to swim the 800 free at the Olympics.
They have the womens’ 1,500 free and mens’ 800 at the World Championships and the world still spins. Its absence from the Olympics is a relic of a bygone age when women were assumed to be less suited than men to endurance races. Should have had the 1,500 back in days of Janet Evans, if not before that. And as we learned 30 years ago with the womens’ marathon: If you create the race, you’ll create the athletes for it. It’s not just about Ledecky.
That doesn’t make any sense. It does not to account for why there’s no 800 free for the men. Are you saying the man are not quite as capable. There’s a reason for why neither is swum at the Olympics, but your reasoning has no basis in a little thing I like to call “reality”. We’ve long known that, unlike in other sports, women are more suited for the endurance events than men are. So please, don’t make everything a PC argument.
Carlo, this is 2016 – not 1916.
That 7:32 is by far the most difficult WR in the books. That’s two 3:46 flat 400s in a row without rest. It won’t be broken for a long, long time.