Katie Ledecky smashed 800M freestyle world record: Twitter reacts
By Brad Weiss
![RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 12: Katie Ledecky of United States celebrates winning the women's 800m Freestyle on Day 7 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 12: Katie Ledecky of United States celebrates winning the women's 800m Freestyle on Day 7 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/bff0636a98b5197298648ad641cbb48ab3be5ca2ad614ab7f3f0219125410614.jpg)
Katie Ledecky picked up her fourth Olympic gold medal on Friday, smashing the world record in the 800m freestyle.
For Katie Ledecky, this has been an incredible 2016 Olympics. She came into the Games as a huge name in the sport, but when all was said and done, she left as the face of American swimming. Swimming under the shadow of Michael Phelps, who could be enjoying his last Olympics, Ledecky has emerged as the star of Rio.
On Friday, Ledecky swam in her final race of the 2016 Games, as she headed to the pool for the 800m freestyle. The event is the signature race for Ledecky, who has owned the 800m freestyle throughout her swimming career. What she did on Friday was nothing short of amazing, and gave sports fans memories of Secretariat at the Belmont.
Ledecky burst onto the scene during the 2012 London Olympics, when she stunned everybody by winning gold in the 800m freestyle. In fact, her time of 8:14.63 was so good that it was the second-fastest time ever in the event. Only Rebecca Adlington’s world record of 8:14.10 was better. She also set the American record that night.
Well, Adlington’s record is long gone, as Ledecky’s time of 8:04.79 absolutely smashed that mark on Friday. To be able to beat a record by almost ten seconds is a stunning feat, and will be the defining moment of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Only 19-years old, Ledecky has an unbelievable future in the sport. As Phelps’ career heads into the twilight, Ledecky has the ultimate opportunity to be the dominant figure in American swimming for the next decade. In an Olympics that saw fellow American Missy Franklin go missing, Ledecky has taken centerstage and has not looked back.
For a 19-year old to be able to set world records in two events at only her second Olympics is going to go down as one of the best feats by a teenager in Olympic history. Buckle up world, because young Ledecky is just getting started.
Here is Twitter going crazy over swimming’s newest superstar.
They just showed Katie Ledecky on the big screen pulling away for the victory. Might as well have been Secretariat at Belmont.
— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) August 13, 2016
Congratulations to @katieledecky, who just broke her own world record in the 800m Free to win #Gold at #Rio2016 !! pic.twitter.com/noDiLvQ31b
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 13, 2016
Katie Ledecky just beat Germany's best swimmer in the 800 meter freestyle, Sarah Kohler, by 23 seconds
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 13, 2016
There are no words to describe @katieledecky and her week long swim meet! Truly remarkable! I am in complete awe! #Rio2016
— Summer Sanders (@SummerSanders_) August 13, 2016
Dear Sports Illustrated:
— Bonnie Bernstein (@BonnieBernstein) August 13, 2016
Your 2016 Sportsperson of the Year is Katie Ledecky.
No brainer. Lock it up. @SInow
Katie Ledecky was out of the pool, toweled off, did an interview, ate dinner and then the second place finisher hit the wall.
— Patrick Schmidt (@PatrickASchmidt) August 13, 2016
World record!...finishing all alone...competing against herself..@katieledecky one of the greatest ever. #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/MLSRH8UP3o
— Hannah Storm (@HannahStormESPN) August 13, 2016
KATIE LEDECKY HAD ALREADY TAKEN HER STUFF OFF BEFORE THE OTHER SWIMMERS EVEN FINISHED!
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) August 13, 2016
Could you teach these guys some lessons, @katieledecky? 🏊 pic.twitter.com/JtUEGeOZBu
— 🇺🇸 FC Bayern US 🇨🇦 (@FCBayernUS) August 13, 2016
Congrats to @katieledecky on the 🏅in the 800m, and continuously raising the bar! @TeamUSA @USASwimming. 🇺🇸 https://t.co/dzWTFSm9cN
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) August 13, 2016
While you enjoy watching Katie Ledecky dominate, take a moment to consider the horror of this. https://t.co/ziFdXwlAYA
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) August 13, 2016
Such an incredible performance from Ledecky that will go down as one of the most impressive and dominant feats in any sport, of all-time.