'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABjAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAcQAAEDBQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIDBBEAAQUGEhMHAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFBhEAAgEDBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDAAQRBQYhQSIxMv/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8Ai2/6VkW2l7HlV2oOfJhe4NyUIUuVFRAhvYYmblM1t+NyblfHNFZ59G6ZczMdDMUpSmjqtojRwARoAMIB4jk+hU7vu3ga7iJQZyee/kd1/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Katie Ledecky lost to 17-year-old Katie Grimes in the recently concluded 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series.
A few days ago, USA Swimming's YouTube channel posted a video of Ledecky and Grimes competing against each other in the 400-meter Individual Medley. Grimes won comfortably by clocking 4:35.92, whereas Ledecky came in second, with a timing of 4:36.09.
Katie Grimes outclassed the Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky
US freestyle champion Katie Ledecky performed two solid races in the TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, Tennessee, in her first competitive action of 2023. She won the 200-meter freestyle and placed second to Katie Grimes, a 17-year-old opponent, in the 400-meter IM.
The 100-meter breaststroke, 50-meter backstroke, and 100-meter butterfly were also on the competition program in addition to those two races. The winners in those competitions were from outside.
Despite concentrating mostly on freestyle events, Katie Ledecky has long had the potential to compete internationally in the 400-meter IM. Teenager Katie Grimes won silver at the 2022 World Championships to become the top American in the competition.
On Thursday night in Knoxville, the two competed in the 400-meter IM, and spectators were given a thrilling race. Grimes set the pace and Ledecky displayed her illustrious freestyle as she nearly passed Grimes.
Grimes outran the pack by swimming almost five seconds through the opening 200 meters in 2:11.39, but she lost ground on the breaststroke. She ended the freestyle leg with a solid 1:01.58, ahead of Katie Ledecky by two seconds, but Ledecky exploded with a 59.75 split in the final 100 meters.
Who is Katie Grimes?
Competitive swimmer Katie Grimes was born in the United States on January 8, 2006. She was born and raised in Las Vegas, where she also started swimming competitively for the Sandpipers team.
Grimes qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2020 US Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. She finished second to Katie Ledecky with a time of 8:20.36. After the competition, Ledecky remarked that Grimes represented the "future" of American swimming.
After they started working together as teammates, Ledecky gave Grimes the nickname 'Katie Squared'. She was the youngest athlete on the US Olympic team for the 2020 Games when she arrived in Tokyo, Japan, at the age of 15.
With a time of 8:17.05, Grimes finished second overall in the preliminary heats of the 800-metre freestyle. Katie Ledecky was the top-ranked swimmer in the preliminary heats.
With a time of 8:19.38, Grimes finished fourth in the final, six seconds behind both the silver medalist Ariarne Titmus of Australia and the bronze medalist Simona Quadarella of Italy.
At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, she made it all the way from the preliminary round of the 1500-meter freestyle to the final. She swam a time that was more than 0.5 seconds faster than fourth-ranked Lani Pallister of Australia.
In the final, she swam a personal best time of 15:44.89 to earn the silver medal, finishing almost four seconds ahead of Lani Pallister, who took home the bronze.
She finished second in the preliminary round of the 400-meter individual medley on the last day of the pool swimming competition, earning a spot in the final with a timing of 4:36.68. Her personal best time in the final was 4:32.67, which earned her the silver medal.
