Ledecky returns to ‘competition’
WASHINGTON, March 3, (AP): Like everyone else, Katie Ledecky was forced to shelve her plans when the coronavirus pandemic took hold. Instead of looking far into the future, the five-time Olympic champion swimmer switched to a more immediate mindset.
Forget that the four-year cycle leading to the 2024 Paris Olympics is already underway. Ledecky is still working toward making a big splash at this summer’s delayed Tokyo Games.
“In some ways not traveling over the past year and just being able to train has been really good for me and something I hope will pay dividends,” she said from Northern California in a recent virtual interview. “I’m someone that really loves training. I kind of like the day-to-day of just going to work and putting in that work in the pool and eventually seeing the results.”
SWIMMING
Ledecky will take a measure of herself when she returns to national competition on Wednesday for the first time in a year. She’s entered in six events at the TYR Pro Swim Series meet in San Antonio, Texas.
Ledecky is among several big names diving back in with three months to go until the US Olympic trials. Caeleb Dressel, Simone Manuel, double backstroke world-record holder Regan Smith, and Ryan Lochte will swim over four days in the first single-site American meet since the pandemic began.
Aiming to make his fifth Olympic team, Lochte is entered in five events.
Ledecky is entered in her usual events: 200-, 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyles. She’s also set to swim the 50 and 100 free.
Her Olympic schedule will focus on the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500, plus any relays. The 1,500 is a new women’s event in Tokyo.