“So that bodes well for tonight.”When Ledecky says something “bodes well for tonight,” the swimming world knows to be on world record alert. Next up for Ledecky: the 200 free, with heats Monday afternoon, semifinals Monday night and final Tuesday night. But already this week it has become clear: The Ledecky of August 2016 is not the Ledecky of 2014 or the Ledecky of January or even the Ledecky of June’s Olympic trials. Since she last lowered her world record in the women’s 400-meter freestyle 24 months ago, Katie Ledecky has graduated from high school, enrolled at Stanford, had her wisdom teeth pulled and blossomed into the dominant female swimmer of her era. On Sunday night, in her first individual final of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 19-year-old Katie Ledecky finally took down 17-year-old Katie Ledecky, her only real competition, in the 400.

Source: Washington Post August 08, 2016 02:03 UTC