Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky

American swimmer
Date of Birth: 17.03.1997
Country: USA

Content:
  1. Katie Ledecky: A Swimming Phenom
  2. Family Background
  3. Early Career
  4. Record-Breaking Championships
  5. Unprecedented Records
  6. World Championship Records
  7. Olympic Records

Katie Ledecky: A Swimming Phenom

Katie Ledecky is an American swimmer specializing in middle- and long-distance freestyle events (200, 400, 800, and 1500 meters). She is a seven-time Olympic gold medalist (one of seven women across all sports to win 7 golds) and a 15-time world champion.

Family Background

Her father, David Ledecky, is a lawyer of Czech and Jewish descent. Her mother, Mary Gen Hagen, is Irish and a former swimmer. Her paternal grandfather, Jaromir Ledecky (b. 1927), emigrated to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia in 1947. Her uncle, Jonathan Joseph Ledecky (b. 1958), co-owns the New York Islanders hockey team and Bridgeport Sound Tigers team, and formerly co-owned the Washington Capitals.

Early Career

Making her debut at age 15 for the U.S. team at the 2012 London Olympics, Ledecky won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle, leading the entire race and posting the second-fastest time in history.

Record-Breaking Championships

In 2013, at the World Aquatics Championships, she became a four-time world champion, setting new world records in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle events. In August 2014, at the Pan Pacific Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Ledecky clocked a 3:58.37, breaking the world record in the 400-meter freestyle. At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, she broke the world record in the 1500 meters (15:27.71) and the following day improved it again (15:25.48). She also set a record in the 800-meter freestyle final, breaking her own previous record by over 3 seconds (8:07.39). In addition to those two victories, she won three more gold medals in Kazan: the 400-meter freestyle with a championship record, the 200-meter freestyle, and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

Unprecedented Records

Ledecky holds and frequently breaks the three long-course freestyle world records in the 400, 800, and 1500 meters. As of August 7, 2016, she had set 11 world records in these distances combined (at least two in each).

World Championship Records

Women's 1500-meter freestyle (15.20,48)
Women's 800-meter freestyle (8.04,79)
Women's 400-meter freestyle (3.56,46)
Women's most world records set (14)
Women's most medals at a world championship (18)
Women's most gold medals at a world championship (15)

Women's most medals in the individual competition at a world championship (13)

Women's most gold medals in the individual competition at a world championship (11)

Most medals in a single discipline at a world championship (men and women combined) (18)

Most gold medals in a single discipline at a world championship (men and women combined) (15)

Most gold medals in the 1500-meter freestyle at a world championship (men and women combined) (3)

Most gold medals in the 800-meter freestyle at a world championship (men and women combined) (4)

Most gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle at a world championship (men and women combined) (3)

Shares (with Federica Pellegrini) the most gold medals in a single discipline at a single world championship (women) (3)

Shares (with Natalie Coughlin, Kristin Otto) the most medals at a single world championship (women) (6)

Most medals in the individual competition at a single world championship (women) (4)

Most gold medals in the individual competition at a single world championship (women) (4)

Most medals in a single discipline at a single world championship (men and women combined) (6)

Most medals in the individual competition in a single discipline at a single world championship (men and women combined) (4)

Most gold medals in a single discipline at a single world championship (men and women combined) (5)

Most gold medals in the individual competition in a single discipline at a single world championship (men and women combined) (4)

Olympic Records

Most Olympic gold medals in the freestyle (men and women combined) (5)

Most Olympic gold medals in the individual freestyle competition (men and women combined) (4)

Shares (with Kristin Otto) the most Olympic medals in the individual competition at a single games (3)

Shares (with Kristin Otto) the most Olympic gold medals in the individual competition at a single games (3)

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