The U.S. ‘s Katie Ledecky, greatest female distance swimmer in the world, comes out the victor of last Saturday’s 400 freestyle at the FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Championship. From the new addition of young runner-up Summer McIntosh to the absent world-record holder Ariarne Titmus, this event was in no way ordinary. [great lead!]
McIntosh was neck and neck with Ledecky for the final 100 meters, pushing Ledecky to the limit. She finished the set at a time of 3 minutes 58.15 seconds, with McIntosh close behind at 3 minutes 59.39 seconds.
This will be Ledecky’s 16th gold medal at the world championships, a higher number than any other female swimmer in FINA history. Apart from the 400 free, Ledecky swam the 800 free, winning first place and a personal record, and has yet to swim the 1500 and 4×200 free.
After new contestant Summer McIntosh takes a too-close-for-comfort second place at worlds, she poses a threat for both Ledecky and Titmus in the future 2024 Paris Olympics.
McIntosh is currently 15, the same age that Ledecky made her swimming breakthrough in the form of an Olympic gold medal.
“I was a little nervous. [McIntosh] hung in there the whole time, so she definitely pushed me a lot,” reflects Ledecky “…Summer is now in the sub-four-minute club, so it’s only going to get harder, these races. So I know I have my work cut out for me. It’s a good stepping stone here, to just kind of have a baseline for the next couple years moving [toward] Paris.”
The absence of Australian Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus was a shock to many, especially to eager fans who were conspiring over Ledecky’s recently broken record. Titmus had broken Ledecky’s then undefeatable 400 free time last month at the Australian national championships. She had shaved six-hundredths of a second off Ledecky’s 2016 time.
Although some were hoping for Ledecky to win back her original record last Saturday, Ledecky herself states that “We kind of set out this year [without] setting any time goals, just trying to improve each meet, and so far I’ve done that, so that’s pretty good.”
McIntosh was neck and neck with Ledecky for the final 100 meters, pushing Ledecky to the limit. She finished the set at a time of 3 minutes 58.15 seconds, with McIntosh close behind at 3 minutes 59.39 seconds.
This will be Ledecky’s 16th gold medal at the world championships, a higher number than any other female swimmer in FINA history. Apart from the 400 free, Ledecky swam the 800 free, winning first place and a personal record, and has yet to swim the 1500 and 4×200 free.
After new contestant Summer McIntosh takes a too-close-for-comfort second place at worlds, she poses a threat for both Ledecky and Titmus in the future 2024 Paris Olympics.
McIntosh is currently 15, the same age that Ledecky made her swimming breakthrough in the form of an Olympic gold medal.
“I was a little nervous. [McIntosh] hung in there the whole time, so she definitely pushed me a lot,” reflects Ledecky “…Summer is now in the sub-four-minute club, so it’s only going to get harder, these races. So I know I have my work cut out for me. It’s a good stepping stone here, to just kind of have a baseline for the next couple years moving [toward] Paris.”
The absence of Australian Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus was a shock to many, especially to eager fans who were conspiring over Ledecky’s recently broken record. Titmus had broken Ledecky’s then undefeatable 400 free time last month at the Australian national championships. She had shaved six-hundredths of a second off Ledecky’s 2016 time.
Although some were hoping for Ledecky to win back her original record last Saturday, Ledecky herself states that “We kind of set out this year [without] setting any time goals, just trying to improve each meet, and so far I’ve done that, so that’s pretty good.”
