How many world records does Katie Ledecky hold? American swimming prodigy targets her 6th title in 800m freestyle
FUKUOKA, JAPAN: Katie Ledecky has continued to perform exceptionally in the ongoing World Aquatics Championships and is currently chasing her sixth straight 800m freestyle title in the finals set to take place on Saturday, July 29, at Marine Messe Hall in Fukuoka, Japan. She positioned herself to achieve the feat by going 8:15.60 on the prelims swim on Friday, July 28, and securing the top seed in the final.
The 800m freestyle finals come after Ledecky made history by tying with Michael Phelps for winning the most number of individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships. A win at the 800m freestyle finals would also allow the star swimmer to break the tie with Phelps. Ledecky also retained her place as the top women's long-distance pool swimmer at the World Aquatics Championships 2023 after her win in the women's 1500m freestyle on Tuesday, July 25.
A look at Katie Ledecky's world records
Ledecky is considered to be one of the greatest Olympians as well as the greatest female swimmer of all time. She has broken a total of 16 world records during her career. The 26-year-old holds the world record in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, both long and short course as well as the record for the fastest-ever times in the women's 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events. She is also the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle, long course.
The athlete has won seven Olympic gold medals and 20 world championship gold medals, the most for a female swimmer in the history of the world. She has six individual gold medals at the Olympics and 15 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and a total of 22 overall medals at the World Aquatics Championships in the records for women's swimming.
Ledecky made her international debut at the age of 15 in the 2012 London Olympic Games and won the gold medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle. Nearly four years later, she became the most decorated female athlete at the 2016 Olympic Games, earning two world records, four gold medals, and one silver medal. She became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads in 2020 and once again became the most decorated US female athlete.
During her career, Ledecky has won 42 medals, including 34 golds, 7 silvers, and 1 bronze, in major international competitions, including the Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships. This year, she also tied with Michael Phelps for winning the most individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships and was also honored as the 2022 World Aquatics Swimmer of the Year by World Aquatics on July 26.
Ledecky previously became Swimming World's Female World Swimmer of the Year for a record-breaking five times. She was also named United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2016, and 2017, international female Champion of Champions by L’Equipe in 2014 and 2017, Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2017, Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2022, and the ESPY Best Female Athlete in 2022.
How did Katie Ledecky begin her swimming career?
Ledecky was born on March 17, 1997, in Washington, D.C., to parents David Ledecky and Mary Gen. She was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, and began swimming at the age of six. The swimming prodigy reportedly began swimming after being influenced by her older brother, Michael, and her mother, who swam for the University of New Mexico. She attended the Little Flower School in Bethesda through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015.
Ledecky set the American and US Open records in the 500-yard freestyle two times during her high-school swimming career and also set the national high-school record in the 200-yard freestyle twice. She completed her high school career as the holder of the Stone Ridge school record in every swimming event except for the 100-meter breaststroke. Ledecky trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Yuri Suguiyama in the summer of 2012.
Following Suguiyama's departure, Ledecky continued to train with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Bruce Gemmell through the 2016 Olympics. Before 2012, she also swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. The athlete eventually accepted an athletic scholarship to Stanford University and swam for coach Greg Meehan's Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team.
Ledecky made her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games and took the world by storm after winning the gold medal in the women's 800-meter freestyle. At the time, she also became the youngest Olympic 800m freestyle gold medalist female by winning the gold at the age of 15 years.