3x Olympian Katie Ledecky SHATTERS record of GOAT Michael Phelps for most individual world titles
On Saturday swimmer Katie Ledecky clinched her 16th gold medal by winning at the World Aquatics Championship in Japan. She overtook the record of Michael Phelps with the most number of titles.
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Katie Ledecky (L) and Michael Phelps (R) [Pic Credit: People/USA Today]
In the current competitive level of sports, no record is safe. The old saying of records are made to be broken, has been used many times in this genre of entertainment. On Saturday, swimmer Katie Ledecky clinched gold at the 2023 Aqatics Championships in Japan. This was her 16th world title which saw her surpass the great Michael Phelps.
Ledecky overtook the 23-time gold medalist in Phelps as the individual with the most world titles. The American swimmer is now the most dominant female swimmer in terms of titles and medals. She completed this historic milestone after winning the 800m freestyle. She defeated China’ Le Bingjie in 8:08:07 and finished ahead of her by 4.44 seconds to claim yet another gold medal.
By winning on Saturday, she accomplished another great feat. Her win meant she became the first swimmer to win six successive world championships in the same event. After the win, Ledecky surprised everyone by saying that she had no idea about the record of surpassing Phelps. She labeled the milestone as “special” while celebrating her triumph.
Ledecky now has her eyes thoroughly set on achieving more gold at the 2024 Paris Games. In her previous three appearances at the Olympics, the 26-year-old swimming sensation has already won seven gold medals. With Ledecky currently, in her prime, it would take some stopping to keep her away from more historic accomplishments.
The legacy of Katie Ledecky continues to write new chapters
In the past few years, the name of Micheal Phelps dominated the headlines. The American swimmer is often called the GOAT of swimming following his mesmerizing career. It now seems his “GOAT” status could be in jeopardy as Katie Ledecky appears to shatter multiple records in her rising career.
She stunned the world at the 2012 London Games when she won a gold medal in the 800m freestyle race. The surprising thing here was she was only 15 years old. To achieve this kind of success at a young age made her one of the ones to look out for. Since then Ledecky has not looked back and tied the record with Phelps on Tuesday before surpassing it on Saturday.
For her outstanding performances last year, she was named the best female athlete at the 2022 ESPY Awards. While accepting her award she made a plea to the audience. She asked the parents to allow their kids to learn to swim. It will take some catching up to Phelps’ record of Olympic medals but given her previous track record, she has higher chances of surpassing him there as well.
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Vinay Dave
(1785 Articles Published)