Katie Ledecky: The Phenomenal Swimmer
Katie Ledecky (New York, 1997) is not the tallest (1.80m), the strongest, or the most muscular among her rivals. She also doesn't dedicate the most hours to such a demanding sport, where training and dedication can make a difference. She does not have a wider stroke frequency than the rest, nor does she possess an extraordinary leg strength that allows her to accelerate whenever she pleases. But she does have a quality that authorizes her to be the greatest freestyle swimmer in the history of swimming.
Her secret, according to experts and studies, is called buoyancy, a genetic heritage that helps her be more efficient than the rest in every stroke and make better use of the impulse to cover more meters. This effect causes her arms to resemble rowing paddles, which is why the difference with her rivals increases as the distance of the race widens. Thus, she is able to leave the second swimmer 25 meters behind in a 1,500-meter race. While other swimmers swim with textile swimsuits, Ledecky's skin is as if it were made of polyurethane, the material from which the famous magical swimsuits, which set so many records and victories in 2009, were made.
In addition to these innate qualities, her detailed training based on the volume of kilometers swam, around eight kilometers per day, and the rehearsal of competitions must be added. Together with her coach, Bruce Gemmell, Ledecky simulated the race on Tuesday, for example, and it worked perfectly for her.
The 18-year-old American already holds the records for the 1,500m, 800m, and 400m freestyle, and she has broken them nine times in just two years. The 200m freestyle is a different race, although Ledecky's growth in all aspects (technique, strength, and race strategy) augur a great future in this discipline, and over time, she could even try herself in the 100m. With the three gold medals she has won in Kazan, the North American already has seven golds in World Championships at her young age, and she has not lost a single race in which she has competed.