Monday, August 3, 2015 -- Part III; Ledecky Wins Swimming Heats By 27 Seconds

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Original Post

 

Breaking news, reported by WSJ less than an hour ago: Katie Ledecky breaks another swimming record. 18-year-old American swimmer breaks her own record in World Championships qualifying heat in Kazan:

KAZAN, Russia—It turns out Katie Ledecky was just getting warmed up.

Roughly 18 hours after winning the gold medal and the 400-meter freestyle Sunday night, Ledecky, broke her own world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle in a qualifying heat of the World Championships.

Ledecky, the 18-year-old sensation who just graduated from high school in Bethesda, Maryland, blew away the field Monday, winning the heats by nearly 27 seconds.

Ledecky, who rarely celebrates her victories, even cracked a smile, and briefly waved her index finger when she saw her time flash on the scoreboard, something she didn’t do Sunday evening when she won her first gold medal of the meet and looked almost disappointed that she had won the race without breaking her world record.

She had no reason for disappointment Monday morning, during a heat when she said she wasn’t even trying to set a new mark. “I wasn’t kicking much,” Ledecky said shortly after the race. “I’m in quite a bit of shock right now.”

On the surface, Ledecky appears to have a bizarrely businesslike approach to her craft. She speaks mostly in unemotional tones and approaches her training and races with the measured style that is extremely rare in someone so young. She is the polar opposite of Missy Franklin, the 20-year-old champion who won four gold medals in London and is all-exuberance, all the time.

North Dakota coolness.