SPECIAL SETS: KATIE

KATIE LEDECKY: RUN-UP TO RIO 2016

With this month’s Olympic Swimming Trials now upon us, Swimming World takes a back-to-the-future approach to revisit some training done by superstar Katie Ledecky prior to the 2016 U.S. team qualifying meet.

BY MICHAEL J. STOTT

Already an Olympic champion in the 800 meter free at the 2012 Games in London, Katie Ledecky, under the able hand of her Nation’s Capital coach Bruce Gemmell, had already amassed a bucketload of medals in the years leading up to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.

She had garnered seven individual (four world records) and two relay gold medals from the 2013 and 2015 World Championships as well as four individual (two world records) and one relay gold from the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships.

To fully appreciate Ledecky’s dominance, consider this: She owns the top seven times ever in the 400 meter freestyle and 21 of the top 26. Her 3:56.46 is 2.30 seconds faster than Ariane Titmus in eighth. She has the top 24 times ever swum in the 800 free, with her 8:04.79 swum in Rio being 9.31 seconds faster than second-place Rebecca Adlington, the 2008 Olympic champion.

In the 1500 free, Ledecky has the top 11 times, a mere 18.40 seconds faster than her nearest competitor, Denmark’s Lotte Friis. The 200 free? Ledecky’s 1:53.75 is third best ever behind Federica Pellegrini’s leading supersuit time of 1:52.98.

THE ROAD TO OMAHA

But back to the future, circa 2016.

Ledecky began the year with a bang. At the arena Pro Swim Series in Austin, she reset her 800 meter freestyle world record (8:07.39), going 8:06.68. In addition, she posted world-leading times in the 200 and 400 and a U.S. top time in the 100.

Following are some representative sets on which Gemmell & Ledecky partnered after Austin to prepare the world’s best female swimmer for a successful Olympic Trials experience at the age of 19.

“The focus was clearly on the 400 meter free, with expected spillover to the 200 and 800. Any attempts to prepare for the 1500 or 100 were back-burnered in the lead-up to Omaha and Rio,” says Gemmell. Coach and swimmer wanted to make sure she had enough speed for what was expected to be a very competitive 200 race. They were also determined to maintain an endurance focus to achieve their 800 goals and to endure a rigorous seven days of competition.

“On the eighth day, she rested,” he says.

>> Coach Bruce Gemmell and Katie Ledecky at the 2016 Rio Olympics

MOLDING OF A CHAMPION

(All done in the period of March-May 2016, unless otherwise noted)

Set 1

Threshold/Colors (Mon and Thu) 10 x 300 @ 3:20 (SCY) 1-4 descend (2:52.6, 2:49.0, 2:46.0, 2:43.6) 5-10 hold best average (2:44.3, 2:43.0, 2:43.0, 2:43.0, 2:42.2, 2:43.4)

Converted Long Course estimate: average 3:06.4)

Set 2

Threshold/Short Colors 150 and down (Thu) 40 +/- 5 minutes in length Sample Set (3 rounds): 1 x 300 @ 3:00 negative-split 3 x 150 @ 1:45 Pink 1:23.1 (using 56.0 T-30 base) 3 x 100 @ 1:15 Red 53.6 (using 56.0 T-30 base) 6 x 25 @ :20 Fast Feet 1:00 rest between rounds

3,600-yard set/44 minutes/7,600 total practice

Set 3

Active Rest (Tue and some Fri) Long Course: Desc avg. time x “round” 1 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 1:01.9 2 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 1:01.5/1:01.1 3 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 1:00.8/1:01.2/1:00.9 4 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 1:00.4/1:00.3/1:00.2/59.4 3 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 59.1/59.3/58.8 2 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 58.3/58.6 1 x 100 @ 1:20 + 100 ez @ 1:30 57.3

Set 4

Broken Swims (Wed and maybe Sat) 4 rounds: 4 x 100 @ 1:20 Long Course (descend x round) 300 ez @ 5:40

Slowest 100 of all 4 rounds: 1:00.9 Average on last round of 4 x 100: 58.2 Last 100: 57.3

>> Katie Ledecky was named the female Swimmer of the Meet at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, winning the 200, 400 and 800 meter freestyles and placing seventh in the 100 free.

Set 5

Threshold/Colors (Mon and Thu) Mid-May 2016 12 x 200 SCY: 4 @ 2:10 Avg 1:56’s 4 @ 2:05 Avg 1:52’s 4 @ 2:00 1:48/1:49/1:48/1:47.4

Early June 2016 8 x 200 SCY @ 2:20 Avg 1:49.1 (no extra rest) 8 x 100 SCY @ 1:20 Avg 52.1

Swims in Omaha went well for the Bethesda, Md. swimmer, as she qualified for her second Olympic team in the 200, 400, 800 free and 4 x 200 freestyle relay. She opened the Trials with a win and meet record in the 400 (3:58.98). Two days later, she clocked a 1:54.88 to win the 200. In the morning 800 freestyle preliminary heats, Ledecky swam an 8:10.91 before placing seventh that evening in the 100 free (53.99). The following day, her 8:10.32 was good enough to win the 800 by nearly 10 seconds. Her three-win performance earned her female Swimmer of the Meet honors. best 1:53.73 that was good enough to win by 35-hundredths over Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom.

Ledecky’s third gold came while anchoring the 4 x 200 free relay with teammates Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith and Maya DiRado. Turning in the field’s fastest split (1:53.74), she reversed a deficit of 89-hundredths to claim an American victory by 1.84 seconds (7:43.03).

For the Stanford-bound star, the 800 free was essentially a coronation that earned her a fourth gold medal. Posting a Games record 8:12.86 in prelims, Ledecky erased the field with an 8:04.79 final to defeat runner-up Carlin by more than 11 seconds.

With three individual titles, Ledecky became the first swimmer since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to win the 200, 400 and 800 meter freestyles at the same Olympics.

“The focus (for Katie Ledecky at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials) was clearly on the 400 meter free, with expected spillover to INFINITY AND BEYOND With the exception of an unfortunate illness at the 2019 World Championships, the post-Rio period has been very, very the 200 and 800. Any attempts good to Ledecky. She ended a two-year to prepare for the 1500 or 100 stint at Stanford as an eight-time NCAA were back-burnered in the champion and nine-time All-American with lead-up to Omaha and Rio.... American records in the 500, 1000 and 1650 SOUTH OF THE BORDER On the eighth day, she rested.” yard freestyles as well as the 400, 800 and

In Rio, Ledecky matched world —Bruce Gemmell, Head Coach, 1500 meter events. Currently, she has five expectations. She anchored the U.S. 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay with splits of Nation’s Capital Swim Club gold/one silver Olympic podium finishes to go along with her 18 World Championship 52.64 (prelims) and 52.79 (finals), boosting swimming medals (15 gold, three silver)—a teammates Simone Manuel, Abbey Weitzeil record for female swimmers. and Dana Vollmer to an American record (3:31.89) and a silver As for what the future holds, that’s to be continued. v medal behind Australia’s 3:30.65.

Ledecky’s first individual meet title came in the 400 free. After setting an Olympic Games record in qualifying (3:58.71), Michael J. Stott is an ASCA Level 5 coach whose Collegiate School she blitzed the field with a world record 3:56.46, besting second- (Richmond, Va.) teams won nine state high school championships. A place Jazmin Carlin of Great Britain by nearly five seconds. Her member of that school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, he is also a recipient second gold came in her tightest race of the meet, a personal of NISCA’s Outstanding Service Award.