Michael Phelps defends Katie Ledecky from ‘immense’ criticism following her underwhelming bronze medal finish in 400m freestyle at Paris Olympics

Katie Ledecky faced a ghost of her past, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who ultimately beat her for the second time in a row. 

Michael Phelps defends Katie Ledecky from ‘immense’ criticism following her underwhelming bronze medal finish in 400m freestyle at Paris Olympics

Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky (Via Healthline/People)

The name Katie Ledecky is not an ordinary one in the swimming world and as she competed in her four Olympics this year in Paris, everyone had high expectations for her to bring home a gold and so did she. However, despite her best efforts and vigorous training, she could only succeed with a bronze in 400m freestyle.

Losing the gold for the USA resulted in a lot of criticism coming her way, which eventually compelled Michael Phelps–the most decorated Olympian of all time, to defend the seven-time Olympic and 21-time World Championship gold medalist, Ledecky.

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In a recent interview with NBC Sports, Phelps was asked to share his thoughts on Ledecky’s underwhelming performance at the Paris Olympics 2024. Judging from his response, the legend has her back and believes this doesn’t define her.

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You have to give credit where credit's due. She's setting records every single day. Moving forward, she's coming into her bread-and-butter events. The events she has dominated her whole career. This race will be something she will put behind her, and really start to generate that focus towards the upcoming events.
Michael Phelps said

Phelps was not wrong with his high praise for Ledecky as she has won a total of 11 medals in the Olympics. This wasn’t the first time he supported Ledecky as previously he had called her the ‘best swimmer’ of this era.

Katie Ledecky analyzes race strategy after falling short of Ariarne Titmus

After finishing up the race, Ledecky had a conversation with Nexstar’s Matt Barnes. She revealed what exactly happened that cost her the gold medal, especially when she was facing a ghost of her past, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, who ultimately beat her for the second time in a row.

I felt like my first 150 was pretty good. I went out with the field and felt like I was within striking distance. I just couldn’t kick in into that next gear that I would have wanted to finish it out.
Katie Ledecky said
Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky (Via IMAGO)

As much as she wanted the gold, she was not entirely disappointed by the bronze, claiming “a medal is a medal.” On an added note, this certainly doesn’t put a question mark on her capabilities. After all, she is a six-time gold medalist individually, which is the highest by a female swimmer in the history of the Olympics.

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