At first, Bob Finke claimed, and now the same lines have echoed in Michael Phelps’ voice. There’s no one similar to Katie Ledecky in the distance swimming. Just a few days ago, the most decorated Olympian claimed that several events in the pool are “bread and butter” for the swimming queen of Bethesda. Now that the queen, Katie, is just minutes away from her one such event, the 1500m free (or a mile) final at the Paris Olympics and the Flying Fish can’t keep calm. Rather, he has revealed a big truth to make the situation far more gripping. 

In his conversation with Mike Tirico today, Michael Phelps claimed, “Her paces would always be faster. So there’s a reason I never swam the mile, and I’m very thankful I didn’t have too many workouts with her because she crushed me every time. But again, this is just her race. This is her race to kind of really just set the pace.” This is something huge, as in the past there have been debates on the superiority between Phelps and Ledecky, and the final seal on this debate has now come at a moment when Katie Ledecky is facing issues after her defeat to Australian arch-rival Ariarne Titmus in the 400m free event last week. But as per the 23-time Olympic gold medalist, such phases can’t get Katie down. The reason is her dedication. 

In one of the pre-Olympic season camps, her swimming mate at the Florida Gators, Bobby Finke, noticed something extraordinary. Even though it was Christmas time, Katie Ledecky threw herself in the pool, aiming to complete 10,000 meters in each of the four seasons in two days. Such examples are not new in the USA swimming field, and Michael Phelps has a few tastes in them. He let those slip to Mike Tirico. 

When it comes to maintaining the training schedule, hardly anybody could match the Baltimore Bullet. But as per his mention, he would not have taken a chance with the 11-time Olympic medalist. Revealing that, he said, “You know, I’ve had a lot of chances to train with Katie, and she trains better than, I mean, almost anybody I’ve ever seen in my life. What’s different about her? It’s just every day, right? Her every day grind, trying to get a little bit better.” The result is in her hand. 

In her “bread and butter events”, Katie Ledecky has established herself as the last woman standing. In the 800m free event, she didn’t face any defeats in the last 13 years until this year, when Summer McIntosh chased her down in Orlando, Florida. But she has already gathered three Olympic gold medals from the event. In the 1500m event, Katie Ledecky has something bigger—a record book holding thousands of pages. 

She has 19 in her name among the 20 top timings in the 1500m free event. Not just that, her last defeat in the event came in 2010, in a regional swimming meet in Maryland. Katie was in school then, and the winner of the event, Kaitlin Pawlowicz, had to grind her memory to remember that event, after these years. That has been the swimming duchess’ story so far. But staying in top form for so many years has its own price to be paid, not in dollars but in more valuable assets. 

Katie Ledecky describes her truth of keeping herself away from anyone’s reach 

In the first week of May, Katie Ledecky received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden. The proud moment filled her deeply as her country acknowledged the role she had been playing for the last 12 years. However, the moment had another importance, as it brought her an opportunity to find a break from her swimming schedule. But being Katie Ledecky has a different price to pay. 

In her 72-hour shift to Washington, Katie didn’t miss her double-time swimming exercise. All she was attempting was to find solace in the pool which has become her best pal since the age of 6. But sometimes she gives up. In her autobiography, Just Add Water: My Swimming Life, the fourth-time Olympian narrated one such experience. 

The pain of splashing chlorinated water has never been easy. It can eat up the body and mind. For Ledecky, it has been the body, as she conceded, “Today the pool hurts. Well, I hurt. My arms and legs feel like they’re filled with cement.” But in her grueling days, the champion does not lose hold of herself. That day as well, Katie’s mind did not give up. She could subsequently add, “I’m ramping up training to try to qualify for the Paris Olympics, which would be my fourth Olympics.” And in her fourth Olympics, apart from playing her events, she has another responsibility, being the captain of the USA swimming squad. Till now, she is up with all those weights on her shoulders. But after tonight, she would cherish this load better as the swimming maestro has his hand on her head.