"Wasn't even in my head" - Katie Ledecky makes feelings on her impressive last-minute victory at TYR Pro Swim Series

Olympic champion Katie Ledecky revealed her thoughts after the intense race between her and the Canadian swimming sensation Summer McIntosh at the TYR Pro Swim series. The Olympic champion overcame McIntosh in a closely contested 400m freestyle race to win it in record time.

Ledecky was way behind McIntosh at the 300-meter mark when she decided to go for a wild dash. The 28-year-old swimmer not only overcame her Canadian counterpart but also won the race by a margin of 1.47 seconds.

In her conversation with NBC Sports after the race, Ledecky opened up on whether she thought about the 3:56 mark.

"I don't know If I ever thought I was to be 3:56 again, like it just wasn't even in my head for tonight for sure," Ledecky said.

Ledecky further thanked Summer McIntosh for the impressive headstart. In her words,

"So I mean, all credit to Summer [for the head start], she's always a great swimmer."

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Katie Ledecky previously achieved her second best timing in women's 1500m freestyle race at the TYR Pro Series meet in Fort Lauderdale. The 28-year-old Olympic champion recorded the timing of 15:24.51, her second best timing since the world record she established in 2018.

Katie Ledecky recounts her experience at the Paris Olympics

Katie Ledecky shares her experience at the Paris Olympics [Image Source : Getty]

Katie Ledecky became one of the most decorated female swimmers of all time at the Paris Olympics. The 28-year-old American swimming sensation won two gold medals, a silver, and a bronze medal at the quadrennial event held in Paris last year.

Ledecky recounted her experience with former teammates Katie Hoff Anderson and Missy Franklin on the podcast channel 'Unfiltered Waters.' The Olympic champion mentioned that she was frustrated with her first three swims at the Paris Olympics. Ledecky stated,

"So the 400 free [400m freestyle] prelim and final um, I was four down in the final. I don't think I've ever been over four minutes in an international meet, and it it didn't feel like a four minute swim, it felt like at least a 3:59, it felt decent um, so I was just a little surprised but at the same time, I was really happy with the bronze, I wasn't disappointed with that."

Katie Ledecky won a bronze medal in the women's 400m freestyle race and contributed to the silver medal won by Team USA in the women's 4x200m freestyle relay at the Paris Olympics. The 28-year-old swimmer went on to win consecutive gold medals in both the 800m freestyle and the 1500m freestyle event.

About the author

Animesh Pandey is a seasoned content writer at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience, having previously worked as an intern for Follow Your Sport before joining SK as a columnist in 2017. A graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, he also worked at TFI Media Private Limited and contributed as an intern for the movie website Nettv4u.

He has extensively covered events from World Championships to the Olympics, providing insights and analyses that resonate with his audience. His belief in mastering the basics and delivering accurate, relevant, and ethical information through thorough research is reflected in his work.

He was notably invited to the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan after winning a MyGov quiz on Indian Sports, where he engaged with celebrated athletes such as Rahi Sarnobat, Hima Das, Jinson Johnson, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, and Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who also happens to be his favorite Olympian.

Despite being a field hockey enthusiast, Animesh's most cherished Olympic moments include Wayde Van Niekerk's unexpected world record in the 400 meters at Rio and Chopra's historic gold medal in Tokyo.

When not immersed in writing or watching the Olympics, Animesh indulges in his love for movies, embracing quality cinema regardless of the language.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua