"First three swims, I was frustrated" - Olympic champion Katie Ledecky opens up on her appearance at the Paris Olympics

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Sep 22, 2024 04:12 GMT

Katie Ledecky once again made USA proud at the Paris Olympics. While the country's male swimmers didn't exactly have a great outing at the quadrennial edition held in Paris, the female swimmers from kept the national prestige intact, with Katie Ledecky emerging as the standout performer, with four medals overall.

In a recent podcast with former Olympic medalists Katie Hoff Anderson and Missy Franklin, titled 'Unfiltered Waters', Ledecky recounted her experience at the Paris Olympics, and how she felt after becoming one of the most decorated female Olympic swimmers of all time.

When asked about how was her overall experience at Paris, Katie Ledecky replied:

"I really felt like I enjoyed the experience a lot and, um yeah I think race by race, I would say my first three swims, I was a little frustrated with, given that the swim felt faster than the time."

The Olympic champion further explained why she felt frustrated about the first three races, especially the 400m freestyle event.

"So the 400 free [400m freestyle] prelim and final um, I was four down in the final. I don't think I've ever been over four minutes in an international meet, and it it didn't feel like a four minute swim, it felt like at least a 3:59, it felt decent um, so I was just a little surprised but at the same time, I was really happy with the bronze, I wasn't disappointed with that," Ledecky said.

Katie Ledecky recorded a time of 4:00.86 minutes to win the bronze medal in the women's 400m freestyle, one of her slowest times in this event since the last decade. However, she won two gold medals in the women's 800m freestyle, as well as the women's 1500m freestyle, apart from a silver medal in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay event at the Paris Olympics.

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Katie Ledecky at the Paris Olympics

Katie Ledecky with the rest of the team after winning the silver medal in women's 4x200m freestyle relay event at the Paris Olympics [Image Source: Getty]

At the Paris Olympics, Katie Ledecky was expected to nail it in her respective events, and become the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time, with a possible total of 14 medals overall.

The 27-year-old swimmer from Washington D.C. didn't disappoint either. She didn't return empty handed from any of the four races she participated in. Ledecky first took part in the women's 400m freestyle finals, where she won the bronze medal. Ariarne Titmus of Australia won the gold medal, while Summer McIntosh won the silver medal.

Ledecky then took part in one of her favorite events : the women's 1500m freestyle, where she is the current world record holder. She broke her own Olympic record of 15:35.35 minutes to establish a new Olympic record of 15:30.02 minutes, thus winning the Olympic gold medal.

Anastasiya Kirpichnikova of France won the silver medal with a new national record of 15:40.35 minutes, while Isabel Gose of Germany clinched the bronze medal, with a timing of 15:41.16 minutes, a new national record for Germany.

A few days later, Katie Ledecky swam the third leg of the women's 4x200m freestyle relay event at the Paris Olympics. The women's team missed the Olympic gold medal, settling for the silver medal with an overall timing of 7:40.86 minutes, while Australia won the gold medal with a new Olympic record of 7:38.08 minutes.

However, Ledecky's final event was the cherry on the icing, i.e. the women's 800m freestyle event. Though she faced stiff competition from the Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus, Ledecky eventually won the event with a timing of 8:11.04 minutes.

Ariarne Titmus settled for the silver, with a new Oceanian record of 8:12.29 minutes, while Ledecky's compatriot, Paige Madden, clocked 8:13.00 minutes to win the bronze medal. With a total of 14 medals from four Olympics, Katie Ledecky is now the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time.