She has personally lowered the world record in the 1,500 by 14 seconds

September 19, 2014 10:07 AM

"This is a column about Katie Ledecky. It has a simple thesis. The thesis is that Katie Ledecky kicks ass."
posted by troika (29 comments total)

I tried to read this, I really did. It was just hard to discern the story from all the electric guitar riffs.
posted by bicyclefish at 10:20 AM on September 19, 2014 [6 favorites]

I'm sure Ms Ledecky's accomplishments are laudable, but this text is unreadable.
posted by tecg at 10:30 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed this piece, thank you for posting it.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:31 AM on September 19, 2014 [4 favorites]

What's the plural of thesis?
posted by Lesser Shrew at 10:32 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

So, what makes her so dominant? I dimly remember that with Phelps there were essays about how his body shape was unusual and that contributed to his being so much apart from other swimmers... is the same kind of thing true of her? Or does she have better technique, or what?
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:33 AM on September 19, 2014

Metafilter: Pipe down, Horatio; amazing doesn’t keep to your clock.

I found that writer's enthusiasm quite refreshing.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:36 AM on September 19, 2014 [11 favorites]

I loved this piece.

Distance swimming is insane. One year at the district swimming championships in high school, one of my teammates lopped 15 seconds off his best time in the 500 yard free, demolishing our 25 year-old school record. Like Ledecky, we hardly knew who he was ... just one kid among 30 swimming back and forth in a grungy pool for 2.5 hours a day.
posted by pjenks at 10:39 AM on September 19, 2014 [3 favorites]

What's the plural of thesis?

Theses.

(Not thoses.)
posted by maryr at 10:40 AM on September 19, 2014 [6 favorites]

It's pretty difficult to make me care about sports in any capacity. For a little bit there this did.
posted by Skorgu at 10:47 AM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'd never heard of this athlete. Swimming is completely off my radar, but I feel like I should have become aware of her when we threw her a god damn parade coming home with medals and the shattered remains of her own world records.
We DID throw her a parade, right?!

A fun read. thanks so much for sharing this, troika
posted by The Legit Republic of Blanketsburg at 10:52 AM on September 19, 2014 [3 favorites]

I enjoyed watching her swim and it's wonderful that she gets some recognition for it. I liked Michael Phelps talking about how nonchalant she is about breaking records.
posted by arcticseal at 11:40 AM on September 19, 2014

That was a cool article - very persuasive!
posted by latkes at 11:49 AM on September 19, 2014

I love this, too. From the end of the second video: "Well, the good news is she actually looked like she was in pain. She's so good, and sometimes she makes it look so effortless..."
posted by Gorgik at 12:49 PM on September 19, 2014

Katie Ledecky is 17 years old, and she’s one of the best athletes — it’s not an exaggeration — in the history of the world.

OK so I don't know anything about competitive swimming or Katie Ledecky. However I love this post because reading an over-the-top hyperbolic fawning article about an athlete who is a woman is refreshing and fun. Yay!
posted by medusa at 12:57 PM on September 19, 2014 [7 favorites]

Yeah, the hyperbole in service of a 17year old girl who is an astonishingly good athlete works for me.
posted by theora55 at 1:51 PM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

How does she keep pushing without anyone being close to her? If you've never been in a race: when you're dominating everyone else, sustaining maximum speed without a pace person challenging you is incredibly difficult.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 1:55 PM on September 19, 2014

Well I'd say it's because she's a fucking monster and she doesn't have a clue how to swim any speed other than full go!
posted by Mister_A at 2:03 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

how... how is that even humanly possible? lowering a world record by a SECOND is a legendary feat. 14 seconds? wtff. shes going to be shredding phelps like next year
posted by young_son at 2:04 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

The most amazing thing is that her 400M split in the 800m final in 2012 would have taken 5th in the women's 400. That is fucking amazing. Like, ridiculously amazing.
posted by Mister_A at 2:06 PM on September 19, 2014

Not ashamed to admit that watching those videos choked me up a bit. What a monster athlete.
posted by KathrynT at 3:00 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

Extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeme!!!!
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 3:14 PM on September 19, 2014

I'm sure Ms Ledecky's accomplishments are laudable

That's some understatement for you. It's kind of hard to explain to someone with little familiarity with the sport, but let's put it this way: To win the 100m butterfly in 2008, Michael Phelps made up about a half second over the second half of the race, and won by 4.7 millimeters over Cavic with a time of 50.58 to Cavic's 50.59. In that 2012 Gold race, Ledecky is an ENTIRE BODY LENGTH (at her height, 5' 11") past her closest competition (which by the way, aren't just some random ladies they brought in off the street or something, they're world-class athletes as well); conservatively, she's around 400 times past one of the closest finishes ever. Her competitors aren't even in the same ballpark as standing a chance against her.
posted by axiom at 3:18 PM on September 19, 2014 [1 favorite]

how... how is that even humanly possible?

I CALL CYLON
posted by medusa at 3:53 PM on September 19, 2014 [4 favorites]

I'm sure Ms Ledecky's accomplishments are laudable

I don't really pay attention to such things, but today I learned that Ledecky won last month at the Pan Pacific Championships-- breaking the world record she'd already set earlier this year-- in a race where she finished a lap ahead of some of the other competitors. As in she was swimming in the opposite direction to them. It was astonishing to watch. Or, as the article notes: "She has personally lowered the world record in the 1,500 by 14 seconds since the summer of 2013." Watch it! SLYT
posted by jokeefe at 4:27 PM on September 19, 2014

Unreal. Great article.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 5:04 PM on September 19, 2014

Holy crap. You can't even tell what's going on by the end, because the other swimmers who seem to be competing with her are actually in last and the actual runner-ups are going the other way. And I love how after Ledecky finishes, they cut away for 30 seconds showing various reactions, and then switch back to the pool with a "oh look here are the other medalists." Completely unreal.
posted by leopard at 7:37 PM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

She's friggin amazing. Her stroke is perfect. Always.

Also, the Tour de France should have more bears.
posted by susiswimmer at 11:35 PM on September 19, 2014 [2 favorites]

I suppose I could do an extensive search through the annals of the 'net looking for the answer, or hope someone reading this knows: If she improves on a similar pace into her early twenties - at some point is she ABLE to compete in the men's events?
posted by birdsquared at 12:55 AM on September 20, 2014

If she improves on a similar pace into her early twenties - at some point is she ABLE to compete in the men's events

As per the article, she would already be placing in the top 20 at similar men's events.
posted by jokeefe at 7:19 PM on September 21, 2014