Ledecky currently trains on his own.
The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has disrupted athletes' preparations. Those who won the Olympic games also had to slow down or change their identities to cope with the changing situation.
American swimmer Ledecky is one of them. The 23-year-old talented girl is not only the world record holder in the women's 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events today, but also won 5 gold and 1 silver at the London and Rio Olympic Games.
But in the current situation, Ledecky can only shelve his plans to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. Of course, she didn't stop training, but in a swimming pool not far from the school, and at the same time, the Stanford high-achieving student also studied infectious diseases.
Elective Infectious Diseases, "It really fascinates me"
Originally, 2020 was a busy year for Katie Ledecky.
According to the plan, five days after her 23rd birthday (March 7), the "nuclear girl" will enter the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center for a three-week training session, followed by several swimming competitions in the United States.
The pandemic has completely disrupted everything.
First the city of Colorado, where the training center is located, closed public places including swimming pools due to the outbreak of the epidemic, and swimming competitions were canceled, and then the Tokyo Olympics were announced to be postponed for one year...
"There's too much uncertainty right now." In an online interview, Ledecky confessed that he could not go to the national team to train, and Stanford University, where he studied, closed its campus. Thankfully, she found a new training ground – a swimming pool in a family backyard less than a 5-minute drive from campus.
In this pool with only two lanes, Ledecky insisted on practicing every day with teammate Simone Manuel.
The Stanford school bully joined the school's saxophone band.
Outside of training, the Stanford student didn't leave his studies behind. Because the school has not yet reopened, Ledecky can only live in a nearby apartment, and she can only attend some of the school's online courses for the time being.
Even if he entered this prestigious school with sports expertise, Ledecky is a full-fledged school bully. As a psychology major, she took a total of four courses in this spring course, including one on infectious diseases.
"The full name of this course is 'Global Change and Emerging Infectious Diseases.'" Speaking to The New York Times, Ledecky explained, "There are many environmental and social factors that cause outbreaks of these diseases, such as SARS, MERS and AIDS, which all have in common, the coronavirus. ”
Speaking of the current epidemic, Ledecky shows a "bully" side, "many of these viruses are related to bats, we need to learn how to calculate the rate of transmission and contractility - it's all so different, it really fascinates me." ”
Swimming out for nearly two years was best, but everything has changed
At the swimming race in Des Moines in March, she scored her fifth-best time in the 1500m freestyle (15:29.51s), her fastest time in two years. In May 2018, Ledecky set a world record of 15 minutes 20.48 seconds in the 1500 meters, and the current top 10 in the world is also maintained by her.
The good shape originally made Ledecky look forward to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the outbreak of the epidemic poured out the hopes of the "nuclear girl", "When you feel good and get ready for everything, everything suddenly changes, it's too tough." I just want to be able to stay that way now and remember that feeling. ”
Today, in addition to her own-led training, Ledecky's spare time is just as fulfilling: she usually cooks food at home, talks on the phone with her family, and occasionally plays online games. ”
When it comes to cooking, that's the biggest headache for Ledecky. Because of the epidemic, she has not been to the supermarket for a month, and can only buy food at home on the commodity procurement software recommended by the swimming association, and the procurement platform provides three different recipes every week.
For the young Olympic champion, the only chance to go out every day is to train in the family pool. She ran all the way to a cardio training and some simple land training by the pool.
Ledecky was named America's Best College Athlete.
Such harsh training conditions still could not shake her confidence.
"What is the secret to Ledecky's success?" Everyone had thrown this question at her in the past. The answer of the "genius girl" was succinct: "Train hard." ”
"If you see her practicing every day, you'll understand why she's successful." Ledecky's coach at Stanford University, Greg Meehan, commented. Greg, who is also the head coach of the U.S. Swimming Team's women's team, appreciates the traits of the disciples, "She takes every opportunity to make herself better and the people around her better." ”
This "trait" of Ledecky allowed her to travel from London to Rio, shortening her performance in the 800m event by about 10 seconds in just 800 meters.
In times of difficult circumstances, how you see life is more important
Racing against time and forza is more like a retrograde.
In fact, after entering the Tokyo Olympic cycle, the speed of Rydecky's performance improvement has slowed down significantly. In particular, at last year's Gwangju Swimming World Championships, he withdrew from many competitions due to physical reasons, and tasted defeat for the first time in 6 years since the 400-meter middle school.
Now that the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed for a year, it means that Ledecky will rise another year, and newcomers such as Australia's Titmus and China's youngster Wang Jiahe are constantly catching up.
"I keep reminding myself that even though I didn't show strength [at the Gwangju World Championships], all the efforts I had before hadn't gone away – I still feel that way." For the future, Ledecky still has a firm belief.
The Nuclear Maiden also has an ambitious plan in mind – to complete the "Ledecky Grand Slam" and win all the freestyle Olympic gold medals from 200 meters to 1500 meters (a new event at the Tokyo Olympics).
"Ledecky rarely promises what she can't do — she won't share her goals with the public, at least until she breaks the world record." This is the comment in an article about Ledecky on stanford University's official website.
So, Ledecky was cautious about the question of the future.
"As athletes, we sometimes get into trouble in competitions, and it's crucial to how we see life." The psychology major has his own thinking, "This kind of thing reminds all athletes that there are more important things out there, and we are just part of this larger world." ”
When the pandemic receded and the U.S. lockdown was lifted, the first thing Ledecky had to do was to go back and visit his family, especially his two elderly grandmothers. But then, the "nuclear girl" will be fully immersed in the pool.
"These four years feel like a lot longer than the previous four years." The 23-year-old can't help but sigh, but in next year's Tokyo, we will have a more mature Ledecky.