SwimSwam Video Interview courtesy of Coleman Hodges.
World record-smashing distance phenom Katie Ledecky has arrived in Austin for the next stop of the Arena Pro Swim Series, and she took part in a pre-meet press conference Thursday.
Ledecky talks about starting the Olympic year strong in the video above, courtesy of SwimSwam’s Coleman Hodges. She mentions her crowded event entry lineup, noting that she’ll “take it day by day” with regards to swimming or scratching, and also talks about a National Team training trip at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs from which she just returned.
Ledecky is entered in 7 events: the 100, 200, 400 and 800 free plus the 200 IM, 400 IM and 100 back. Despite fan excitement over her development in the 400 IM, Ledecky made the event sound more like a mid-season training swim than a targeted event for U.S. Olympic Trials.
Maybe most interesting is Ledecky’s recounting of her early career before her big 2012 breakout on the international stage. Ledecky notes that at this point in 2012, she hadn’t yet swum a single Arena Pro Swim Series meet (then known as the Grand Prix Series). Ledecky was just a 14-year-old upstart at the time, and pointed out in her press conference that there are likely other swimmers who, like her four years ago, are on the verge of a major national-level breakout.
Ledecky already went a PB at this meet (54.45) , I would say she’s going to post some phenomenal times !