Katie Ledecky entering stratosphere of awesome

[Jimmy Higgins]

Katie Ledecky has been around for so long, it wouldn't be hard to be confused in learning she is only 28. World Swimming Championships were back and so was Ledecky who cruised to another 1500 m championship. The question was going to be the 800 meter race. She has seen a resurgence at the distance, setting a new world record this year in the distance. However, Canadian swimming prodigy Summer Mcintosh is maturing into a remarkable athlete, scoring a few golds in shorter distances at World's already. The two were going to meet and there was anticipation of a classic. And goodness, did they ever pull off a remarkable race. The shocker was the swimmer from Australia, Lani Pallister, who was appearing to photo bomb what was supposed to be a two swimmer race. Instead, we got treated to three incredible athletes putting it all out there, swimming sub-8:10 roughly equivalent half miles (in a pool).

The last 100 meters would decide the race, and Ledecky had enough in the tank to pull out, as Mcintosh fell back a little and Palister held onto the silver with a strong finish as well. They finished within 1.3 seconds of each other. Mcintosh was stretching to reach this distance this year and perhaps at worlds next time, she might beat Ledecky. Until then, Ledecky is undefeated in Worlds since the Bronze Age putting her into untreaded (you know that was intentional!) territory.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

I tried to look up the number of races in her 800m winning streak, and got this pile of guano from AI:

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

The world is catching up, and she’s past the typical retirement age for female distance swimmers, but she’s still the best. She said she’s finally learned to kick more effectively; that’s a scary thought.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Ledecky lost to Mcintosh in a final of a Florida meet in 2024. So Ledecky's streak is now only Olympic and World Championship Finals.

This might have been something that drove Ledecky to push harder again, despite being "over the hill at 28". Mcintosh is a special talent, so hopefully we get to see this again.

The world is catching up, and she’s past the typical retirement age for female distance swimmers, but she’s still the best. She said she’s finally learned to kick more effectively; that’s a scary thought.

The thing is, Ledecky broke her 800 m record this year! And she won this race by kicking it in the final 100 meters, so her engine is still in peak condition. So, she isn't ceding yet.