PhotoRIO DE JANEIRO — At her second Olympics, Katie Ledecky experienced what was for her a Games first: She touched the wall not knowing if she had won. “I literally heard the guy go, ‘New world record!’” Smith said, referring to the meet announcer. Ledecky, 19 and soon to be a freshman at Stanford, deserves Advanced Placement credits for her elevated margins of victory. PhotoIt is not often that a rival says, “I knew she was going to win,” as the American Leah Smith did while talking about Ledecky after the 400 freestyle final. But then, it has been nearly a half-century since the swimming world has seen a female swimmer as dominant as Ledecky.

Source: New York Times August 12, 2016 01:33 UTC