At another Olympic Games, swimmer Katie Ledecky displayed the beauty of excellence yet again
In winning her eighth Olympic gold, it was impossible to watch Ledecky’s performance and not come away with a deep appreciation for her greatness.
NANTERRE, France — Katie Ledecky allowed herself a brief celebration Wednesday night, a slap at the surface of the pool here at La Defense Arena, a sign that everything about her swim in the 1,500-meter freestyle final — her time, the result, all of it — had pleased her.
Her victory in the 1,500, in 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds, gave her an eighth Olympic gold medal, the most that any female swimmer has ever won. It gave her a 12th Olympic medal, which is the most any U.S. female swimmer has ever won. Satisfaction is a high standard for her. Glee is almost unattainable. Yet there it was, in the slap at the water and a radiant smile.
“I don’t mean to celebrate that much, but it comes out,” she said. “The happiness and the joy — it just comes out.”
This had been a thrilling and charged day, the French crowds raucous and exuberant for Leon Marchand’s two golds in the breaststroke and butterfly, one exciting sprint event after another, and Ledecky’s performance would seem, a first, a contrast to all that noise and energy. Everyone inside the arena or following the race at home knew that she would win the 1,500 and likely set an Olympic record, which she did. She is unbeaten in the event over her career. The 20 fastest times in it belong to her. No one was within 10 seconds of her Wednesday.
Yet it was impossible to watch Ledecky’s performance and not come away with a deep appreciation for her greatness. That appreciation was born of the nature of what she did and how she did it.
The 1,500 is the longest indoor event in men’s or women’s swimming. The monotony of training for it, the boredom or ennui it would encourage in someone who wasn’t maniacally devoted to success, seems overwhelming, too difficult to overcome. The other seven swimmers in Wednesday’s race were the best in the world at casting aside those mental obstacles, and none of them could come close to Ledecky. Not close.
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She relied on what she called “her tricks” throughout the race: counting the laps, thinking about her family and friends and teammates, repeating their names in her head. Just gotta get to 1,100. Then it’s not that far. … Just gotta get to 1,400. Then there’s nothing left.
“I didn’t just show up here and use my tricks here,” she said. “I have to use those tricks every day in training. I know how to balance thinking about my stroke, thinking about how I’m feeling, thinking about what lap I’m on with what other things enter my mind.
“I keep things very simple in my head. It probably sounds like I think about a lot, but I’m very to the point and have this voice in my head that’s been consistent over the years in its tone and positivity that I try to have in these final races. Just a very positive, good voice today.”
The process that Ledecky described there and experienced before and during her swim Wednesday is no rote jock-speak. It is the same mindset that guides a gifted musician who is mastering an instrument, a carpenter whose hands and care create a piece that is sturdy and lovely, a writer who sits in front of a blank page or screen every day and works until the words are clean and clear and sing. It is the notion, the truth, that excellence is habitual, that we are defined in our lives and our livelihoods by what we do every day. And for elite athletes, the stakes are even higher, because when their moment of truth arrives, they are not by themselves in their study or office or sitting at a piano in an empty room.
Dr. Dimitry Olevsky, a sports psychologist and classical violinist who teaches at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, called the process “a form of self-expression, performed in front of an audience that demands astounding mastery of the human mind and body.” The roaring crowd changes everything, and athletes like Ledecky must prepare themselves to withstand that withering pressure.
“This requires extreme mental alertness, diligence, critical listening, and essentially learning how to be your own teacher,” Olevsky said in a recent email. “It is important to avoid falling into the habit of practicing on ‘autopilot,’ a state in which one does not diligently exercise any form of mental or physical discipline. This approach leads to something that should not be considered ‘practicing,’ but rather engaging in the careless, mindless, and uninvolved playing-through while hoping that the results will somehow improve with repetition. Practice to the best of your abilities, play to the highest standard.”
Katie Ledecky represents a different kind of drama at the Olympics. It is not the drama of the Miracle on Ice, or of Rulon Gardner outlasting the mighty Aleksandr Karelin, or even of Alex Sedrick breaking free with 0:00 flashing on the clock. It is not the drama of the inconceivable upset. But it is, in its way, just as moving and memorable.
When she is in the pool as she was Wednesday, so far in front of her competitors, alone … three seconds ahead … five seconds ahead … 10 … no other swimmer near … she is showing us something singular and extraordinary, an excellence so profound and everlasting and formed from so much daily time and effort and concentration and purpose that you mark the moment as your flesh begins to tingle and tears begin to pool in your eyes. The happiness and joy come out, just as they do for her, for she is showing us something beautiful.