TOKYO — Katie Ledecky is a bona fide American sports hero and a six-time Olympic champion, graceful in victory or defeat.
But can we stop calling Ledecky the GOAT so often that the term begins to haunt her?
Her swim for gold in the first-ever 1,500-meter freestyle race for women at the Olympics was as peaceful as 30 lengths of the pool can be. When it was over Wednesday morning and Ledecky crushed the competition in 15 minutes and 37.34 seconds, the 24-year-old American pumped her fist in victory.
And then Ledecky cried. Tears of relief as much as pride. Ledecky had finally won gold for the first time at a swim meet many expected her to dominate, after falling short of first place in two earlier events.
“I don’t anyone to feel sorry for me, or to feel like silver or any other medal besides gold is a disappointment,” said Ledecky, her voice cracking with emotion.
“I would much rather people be concerned about those who are truly struggling in life. It’s a true privilege to be at the Olympics, let alone an Olympics in the middle of a pandemic. So many people throughout the world are going through a lot of hard things. I’m just lucky to be here.”
GOAT is a term thrown around too lightly by the Olympic hype machine, and it can crush the spirit of even the strongest athlete.
Hey, I’m as guilty as anyone in banging the drum too incessantly in gushing praise of citius, altius, fortius. But here’s the thing that bugs me: We now expect historic greatness before it’s made. In our rush to crown the GOAT of the hour, we fail to show proper respect for becoming the best the world has ever seen. In the process, we also minimize the struggle of an athlete striving to earn a seat at the table alongside sports gods.
There’s no doubt Ledecky is a legendary American swimmer. But with 23 Olympic gold medals in his trophy case, Michael Phelps is the GOAT. And Kristin Otto might have been a product of East Germany’s better-sports-through-chemistry experiments, but she won six gold medals in the pool at a single Summer Games, way back in 1988.
Ledecky attempted the near-impossible on this summer morning, taking the blocks for two Olympic finals within the span of 90 minutes.
Her first task was the 200 free, where she went out way too slow to hang with this fast crowd, then slogged home during the final 50 meters. Ledecky touched the wall in fifth place, a whopping 1.71 seconds behind winner Ariarne Titmus, the 20-year-old Australian wunderkind.
Titmus, who earlier this week hunted down Ledecky and beat her in the 400 free, is clearly inside the head of her American rival. There are too many sharks in the water to show even a hint of weakness at the Olympics, and Ledecky is no longer the unbeatable force she was five years ago at Rio de Janeiro, where she set two world records and took home five medals, including four gold.
Ledecky is a comet Titmus has caught by the tail. There’s no shame in that. But at age 24, Ledecky is a burnt out shell of her former shelf. Here’s your proof: Ledecky swam this 200 free in 1:55.21, nearly a second-and-a-half slower than her winning time five years ago. With a quick turnaround before getting back on the starting blocks for the 1,500, Ledecky had to play a mind trick in order to “forget the bad race happened.”
The pressure of the Games eats its heroes slowly, from the inside, deep in the gut, where self-doubt can attach itself like a leech, sucking the thrill out of being a champion.
The power of Olympic gold for Ledecky is to being able to share it with soldiers permanently scarred by war wounds and gravely ill kids fighting for life in a hospital bed.
“Their faces light up when they see the gold medal. That means more to me than anything, the ability to put a smile on somebody’s face,” said Ledecky, tears again pooling in her eyes. “And I just so wanted to get a gold medal (in the 1,500) in order to have the opportunity again.”
Maybe that’s why when Ledecky finished a historic mile swim at the Olympics, her celebration was more fierce than joyous.
This was no party in the pool for Ledecky. And can you blame her? She had slayed a dragon.
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July 28, 2021 at 11:18AM
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Kiszla: U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky is a six-time Olympic champ, but can we stop calling her the GOAT? - The Denver Post
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