BEST ATHLETES OF 21ST CENTURY

 

KATIE LEDECKY IS ON 🔥 AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS 2024

 No other swimmer was even in the frame when Katie Ledecky finished 😳

Absolute DOMINANCE as she breaks the women's 1500m freestyle Olympic record 🔥

TRIALS OVER, US SWITCH FOCUS TO AUSTRALIA SHOWDOWN IN PARIS

USA TODAY Sports 

 Katie Ledecky and a powerhouse American swim team will turn their attention to another Summer Games showdown with arch-rivals Australia after the U.S. Olympic trials concluded in Indianapolis on Sunday.

After nine days of intense competition at Lucas Oil Stadium, normally the home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the final tickets to Paris were handed out with Simone Manuel winning the 50m freestyle and Bobby Finke the men's 1,500m.

Manuel, the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic swimming gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games, won the 'splash and dash' in 24.13 seconds, just .02 head of Gretchen Walsh, who also earned a spot in the event in Paris.

"I put in a lot of work to get to this point," said Manuel. "I wasn't feeling too confident after last night (in the heats), I spent a lot of time watching races where I won and I really wanted to channel that Simone because I know I am a winner and that's what I did tonight."

Finke, gold medallist in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, will defend both titles in Paris after touching first in the final event of the meeting in 14:40.28.

David Johnston finished 12 seconds back of the winner but the result was good enough to earn him a spot on his first Olympic team.

With the U.S. and Australian Olympic trials wrapped up the stage is now set for what is set to be an explosive competition in the Paris pool.

Team USA will once again be targeting top spot in the pool after winning 11 gold medals and 30 overall.

But Australian swimmers are heading to France on a mission to end the American reign after coming close in Japan with nine golds among their 21 total.

"This has been a legendary rivalry in our sport and it is shaping up again to be a really exciting one, both sides of the pool, men and women," U.S. swimming great Michael Phelps told NBC Sports.

Competing in her fourth Olympics, Ledecky will be counted on to make a major contribution to the U.S. medal haul after winning four individual events (200, 400, 800 and 1,500 freestyle) at the trials.

A seven-time Olympic champion and one of the all-time greats of the sport, Ledecky's battles with Australian Ariarne Titmus and Canada's teenage wunderkind Summer McIntosh are expected to be one of the highlights of the Paris Olympics.

With Ledecky and another seven-time gold medallist Caeleb Dressel leading the way, the U.S. will not lack for experience in a squad packed with Olympic and world champions and world record holders.

But the U.S. roster also includes some fresh faces, like 17-year-old Thomas Heilman, who will contest the 100m and 200m butterfly and becomes the youngest male to make the U.S. swim squad since Michael Phelps at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Dressel, winner of five golds in Tokyo, did not qualify to defend his 100m freestyle crown but will be kept busy in Paris in the 50m freestyle and 100m butterfly as well as potentially being involved in three relay teams.

Regan Smith is also set for a heavy workload after winning the women's 200m butterfly and 100m and 200m backstroke.

The 22-year-old added some spice to the U.S. and Australia rivalry when she regained the 100m backstroke world record from Kaylee McKeown.

Walsh opened the trials by setting a world record in the women's 100m butterfly on the opening day and will travel to Paris with her older sister Alex, who earned her spot on the team after finishing second in the 200m individual medley.

They will not be the only siblings on the U.S. squad - Alex Shackell qualified in the women's 200m butterfly and her brother Aaron won the 400m freestyle.

- Reuters 

KATIE LEDECKY HEADING FOR HER FOURTH OLYMPICS, WINS 400 FREESTYLE AT IS SWIMMING TRIALS

AP Photo 

 INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Katie Ledecky is heading to her fourth Olympics, an accomplishment that seemed unimaginable when she was a 15-year-old kid in London.

These days, it wouldn't seem like a Summer Games without her.

As steady as ever, Ledecky cruised to victory in the 400-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming trials on Saturday night.

She makes qualifying for the Olympics look so much easier than it is. Ledecky became just the ninth U.S. swimmer to qualify at least four times for the sport's grandest stage.

“I pride myself on that consistency,” she said. “Sometimes it can be tough to feel you're not having a breakthrough. But being really consistent is something I'm really happy with. I've learned to really enjoy training and take advantage of the moment.”

AP Photo 

Cheered on by a crowd of 20,689 at the home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, Ledecky touched the wall in the temporary pool in 3 minutes, 58.35 seconds.

She improved on her time of 3:59.99 in the morning preliminaries and set herself up to make a run at another gold against a loaded field at the Paris Games.

The Australian “Terminator,” Ariarne Titmus, is the defending Olympic champion and world-record holder in the 400 free. Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh is also expected to contend for the top spot on the podium.

In Tokyo, Ledecky settled for the silver behind Titmus — the first individual loss of the American's Olympic career.

She'll have her work cut out for her in Paris, as well.

Titmus is coming off an Australian trials where she broke the world record in the 200 free and barely missed knocking off her own mark in the 400 free, winning with a time of 3:55.44 — nearly 3 seconds faster than Ledecky's pace in Indianapolis.

“It's going to be a great field,” Ledecky said. “I've always done a pretty solid job in the period between the trials and the games at being faster at the games. The goal is no different this time around. Hopefully, that will put me in a good position in the 400.”

AP Photo 

The 27-year-old Ledecky is set to swim four events at her nation's trials, all of them freestyle events ranging from 200 to 1,500 meters. She already has six individual gold medals — more than any female swimmer in Olympic history — and an overall haul of 10 medals that includes seven golds.

“I never thought I would make it there,” Ledecky said, remembering her Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games. “I never dreamed of that as a young kid.”

After winning a surprising gold in her only event, the 800 free, Ledecky was determined to reach ever greater heights.

“I wanted to get back to that level, prove that I wasn't just a one-hit wonder,” she said. “But at the same time, I reminded myself that anything more than that is just like icing on the cake, the cherry on top.”

That makes her appreciate a fourth trip to the Olympics even more.

Then there's Aaron Shackell, a local favorite from suburban Carmel, who will be heading to the Olympics for the first time after winning the men’s 400 freestyle.

Shackell touched in 3:45.46 to hold off Kieran Smith, the bronze medalist in this event at the Tokyo Olympics. Smith used a strong finishing kick to claim the runner-up spot in 3:45.76, which should be enough to get him back to the Summer Games.

AP Photo 

The top two in each individual event are expected to make the powerhouse American team, which also bodes well for Paige Madden, the runner-up behind Ledecky in 4:02.08.

Ledecky and Shackell were both overshadowed on the opening night of the trials by Gretchen Walsh. The 21-year-old from the University of Virginia set a world record in a semifinal heat of the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 55.18.

Walsh was more than a half-second under world-record pace at the turn and finished strong to eclipse the mark of 55.48 set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“There has been a little bit of a buzz out there,” Walsh said. "I think going into tonight, you know, like I knew it would take a (55) point-4 or I guess point-5, but I didn’t think I was going to do it tonight. I just knew I wanted to go a fast time and now here I am -- a world record holder.”

Walsh held her hand over her mouth as she looked at the scoreboard in disbelief, a “WR” beside her name. But she's still got some work to do to make her first Olympic team.

The 100 fly final Sunday night also includes Torri Huske, Regan Smith and Claire Curzan — all medalists at the Tokyo Games. Shackell's sister, Alex, also advanced to the final and will be looking to join her sibling on the Olympic team.

- PAUL NEWBERRY

KATIE LEDECKY | 400M FREESTYLE FINAL | FINA 2022

RIO 2016: KATIE LEDECKY AVUNJA REKODI YAKE YA DUNIA

Katie Ledecky amevunja rekodi yake ya dunia ya mita 400 freestyle kwa sekunde 2...

Mmarekani huyu akukwa mbio sana katika kuogelea na alimaliza kwa muda ya 3:56:49...Bofya hapa upate habari zaidi.