LEGEND: Katie Ledecky Is Second Only To Michael Phelps In All-Time Olympic Golds
This is a bit of click-bait, because she is technically tied with a few other people, but that doesn't take anything away from the fact that Katie Ledecky is arguably the greatest female Olympian of all-time. Arguably one of her toughest races in the long distance events, Ledecky held off Australia's Ariarne Titmus to win Gold in the Women's 800m Freestyle...
Doing "GOAT" things is when people say you're going to finally be challenged atop the throne, and then still winning with relative ease. Titmus pushed her, but when Ledecky turned on the jets it was all over.
Winning Gold in the Women's 800m Freestyle also means she is the first female Olympian in any sport to win four straight Gold Medals in a single event, and joins Phelps as the only swimmers to ever do it.
She burst onto the scene at the London 2012 Olympic Games (I am lucky enough to say I saw the above race in person), and hasn't looked back. Her records in the 1500m and 800m are just fucking absurd.
Fastest Women's 800m Times Ever:
1. Ledecky
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Fastest Women's 1500m Times Ever:
1. Ledecky
2. Ledecky
3. Ledecky
4. Ledecky
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6. Ledecky
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The next fastest time after her World Record in the 1500m is 18 seconds slower, and in the 800m its just under 7 seconds slower. On NBC the other night, they had a stat they laid out that said her records are likely not going to be broken until 2054, based on science and human development. That's a ridiculous statement to even comprehend.
Here is the all-time Gold Medal table for the Olympic Games:
A few notable things here:
1) Michael Phelps having 23 Gold Medals is fucking stupid lmao. I know people hated him being #1 on that ESPN Best Athletes Ranking, but the fact he has that many more Gold Medals than everyone else is crazy.
2) Caeleb Dressel of the United States literally joined Katie Ledecky today with 9 total Gold Medals after he received one for the Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay, an event in which he swam a qualifier race (which probably helped exhaust him yesterday, resulting in no medal in the 50m Freestyle, and failing to even make the final of the 100m Butterfly and defend his Gold). He will swim in the Men's 4x100m Medley Relay tomorrow in Paris, and could stand alone behind only Michael Phelps with 10 career Gold Medals.
3) Simone Biles sits at 7 total Gold Medals, and has two events on Monday in which she is the favorite: the Beam, and Floor Routine. A two Gold Medal day for Simone Biles would mean she joins the likes of Ledecky, Dressel, and all of the others with 9 Gold Medals.
4) Usain Bolt should have 9 total Gold Medals. A doping disqualification in his Gold Medal for the Beijing 2008 4x100m Relay (stripped away years later) drops his total down toe 8 Gold Medals. In my eyes, he's right there behind Michael Phelps.
Will this be it for Katie Ledecky? I doubt it. With the Olympic Games in Los Angeles on home soil in four years, I'd imagine this machine just keeps on swimming.