What happened at Katie Ledecky's first-ever Olympic final at the London Olympics?
Katie Ledecky has been one of the best female swimmers of the past decade. The Washington-born swimmer has won ten Olympic Games medals, including seven gold medals and three silver medals. Katie won her very first Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle event in swimming at the 2012 London Olympics.
To earn qualification to represent Team USA at the London Olympics, Ledecky competed in the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. She participated in three events, the 200-meter freestyle, the 400-meter freestyle, and the 800-meter freestyle. Katie was only able to qualify for the 800-meter freestyle event.
The American swimmer finished first in the 800-meter freestyle event with a time of 8:19.78 and qualified for the London Olympics. Katie finished ninth and third in the 200-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle events, respectively. In the 400 meters, Katie claimed third place with a time of 4:05:00. This was the fastest time ever swum by a 15 to 16-year-old American.
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Katie Ledecky and the 800m Freestyle! #UnitedByEmotion https://t.co/su8DBj5DhA
Katie Ledecky and her first-ever Olympic finals
Katie Ledecky was the youngest member of Team USA at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Ledecky started in lane four in the heats of the 800-meter freestyle during the 2012 London Olympics.
The Washington-born swimmer was up front from the start as she completed her first 50 meters with a time of 28.32. Ledecky finished the heats for the 800-meter freestyle finals by finishing third in the overall rankings in the heats with a time of 8:23.84. Rebecca Adlington and Lotte Friis of Great Britain and Denmark finished first and second in the heats.
Katie started in lane three in the 800-meter freestyle finals. She completed the first 50 meters with a time of 28.39 and was leading up front just like in the heats followed by Friis of Denmark. But at the end of the 100 meters, Friis overtook Ledecky. There wasn't much of a gap between the two but after 100 meters, Katie was pushed to second place.
Ledecky made a comeback and was leading again, halfway through the 150 meters. She was able to break the world record (1:30.17) at the 150-meter mark by completing it with a time of 1:29.01. Ledecky continued to lead throughout the 200 meters. The ace swimmer was so quick on her way to the 200-meter mark that she had already created an almost body-length lead.
Once again at the completion of the 200-meter mark, Katie Ledecky broke another world record by completing the 200 meters with a time of 1:59.95. The previous world record for the 200-meter mark was 2:01.32. She went on to break another world record at the end of the 250 meters and continued to lead.
Katie Ledecky was phenomenal at that event as she broke another world record at the 300-meter mark. At the end of the 350 meters, it was another world record for Ledecky and she was followed by Adlington of Great Britain in second place. She created another world record in the 400-meter split and it was her personal best at that distance.
Halfway through the 600 meters, Katie Ledecky created an almost two-body length gap between herself and her competitors. The ace swimmer never showed any signs of slowing down throughout the event. Near the end of the 700-meter split, none of her opponents were seen closing in on the Washington-born swimmer.
Katie Ledecky emphatically won the 800 meter freestyle event. The ace swimmer was followed by Mireia Belmonte Garcia and Rebecca Adlington of Spain and Great Britain, respectively.
Ledecky was able to complete the 800 meter freestyle with a time of 8:14.63 and just missed out on the world record by a mere 0.53 seconds. She was able to break Janet Evans' American record in the 800 meter freestyle which was 8:16.22.
The gold medal in the 800 meter finals of the 2012 London Olympics was the first international medal of Katie's career. As a result of her outstanding performance, Katie Ledecky won the Breakout Performer of the year award and Female Performance of the year award.
Since winning that gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle event at the London Olympics, Katie Ledecky has competed in two more Olympics, further winning six gold medals and three silver medals. The ace swimmer has also created world records across different events in swimming.