- Who is the athlete with the most medals in the Olympic Games history?
- USA name Katie Ledecky as flag bearer for Paris Olympics closing ceremony
Katie Ledecky was 15 years old when she caused a stir and won gold in the 800 meters at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Since then, the swimming queen has forged an unparalleled track record, with nine Olympic gold medals and 21 world championships, extending her 'tyranny' in distance events, especially in the 800 and 1,500 meters, for almost three decades.
At 28 years of age, the Maryland swimmer, who has finally found rivals in the 400 meters in Australia's Ariarne Titmus and Canada's Summer McIntosh, continues to dominate her two favorite distances with an iron fist, as she demonstrated on the first day of the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Ledecky won the 1,500 meters with a time of 15:24.51, the second fastest time ever, only behind her world record (15:20.48), set in May 2018 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis.
The American achieved her first world record in the distance at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, with a time of 15:36.53, and at this stage she has the 22 best times in history in the 1,500 meters. She is followed, far behind, in 23rd place by the Dane Lotte Friis with the current European record (15:38.88), achieved precisely in the shadow of the queen in Barcelona 2013.
Marchand returns with new challenges
The Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, continues until Saturday and marks, among other things, the return of Leon Marchand to the pool seven months after his last competition - the Frenchman gave up the World Short Course Championships in December in Budapest due to accumulated fatigue. The king of the Parisian La Defense Arena, where he won up to four individual Olympic gold medals, will compete in five events.
To the usual 200m breaststroke and 200m and 400m medley, she adds the 200m and 400m freestyle, a unique event for the 22-year-old genius, who after training for the last three months in Australia under the prestigious Dean Boxall is looking for new challenges for Los Angeles 2028.