Ledecky uses a short left stroke, followed by a long right one, while breathing on her right side every other stroke, and repeating the pattern. In the 400-yard individual medley, Ledecky broke Katinka Hossz's all-time record by one-hundredth of a second, finishing in 3:56.53. Aussie Terminator takes out Katie Ledecky in first Olympics matchup Because of her analytical approach to training, she knows almost exactly how the race is going to go, Sweetser said. Nature versus nurture? The traits, at least individually, arent uncommon in elite swimmers. 578K followers. However, elite swimmers focus on how to generate propulsion more efficiently.. In her second event, Ledecky won gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in a world record time of 15:36.53, breaking the record held by compatriot Kate Ziegler by six seconds. Is she tall for the average person? She wasnt a great kicker. Katie Ledecky competes in the women's 1500-meter freestyle during the U.S. Olympic swim trials on June 16 in Omaha, Neb. Catholic faith anchors swimmer Katie Ledecky - Religion News Service Katie Ledecky has no obvious physiological advantages as a swimmer. Her gold was the first international medal of her career, earning her the 2012 Best Female Performance of the Year and Breakout Performer of the Year at the Golden Goggle Awards. Ledecky, who has broken the 4-minute barrier in the distance 20 times, thought she had been faster. In the debut of the women's 1500 meter freestyle at the Summer Olympics, Ledecky set an Olympic record in her heat with a time of 15:35.35 and advanced to the final ranked first overall. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky on training in a backyard pool and - CNN At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ledecky helped lead Stanford to its first team title since 1998. No. No detail is too small. The swimmer wowed the world in 2012 when she competed in her first Olympics at just 15 and won a gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle competition. She was swimming like most classic female distance swimmers, Suguiyama later told the American Swimming Coaches Assn. Even elite womens swimmers at the Olympics arent able to pull off that kind of stroke.. Its a remarkable combination, particularly for someone to be that dominant for so long, which takes so much commitment, while at the same time being so nice and polite and kind., Matt Barbini, USA Swimmings national team performance director.