Why Katie Ledecky’s gold represents something bigger at the Games
Katie Ledecky, perhaps the greatest female distance swimmer of all time, has dominated the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle for the better part of a decade. At one point this week, she held the 11 fastest times in its history. Her world-record time is 18 seconds ahead of the second-fastest finisher.
But until Wednesday, Ms. Ledecky didn’t have an Olympic medal in the event. For decades, the 1,500-meter was only available to men.
After a disappointing 200-meter final, Ms. Ledecky had an hour to rally herself for the mile-long race. When she entered the pool again, it wasn’t close. She spent the entire race multiple lengths ahead of the competition, and finished four seconds
Long road“It always takes that first person”