Katie Ledecky wins Olympic Gold - Women's 800m Freestyle | London 2012 Olympic Games
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Highlights as USA's Katie Ledecky wins Gold in the Women's 800m Freestyle during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Swimming has featured on the programme of all editions of the Games since 1896. The very first Olympic events were freestyle (crawl) or breaststroke. Backstroke was added in 1904.
In the 1940s, breaststrokers discovered that they could go faster by bringing both arms forward over their heads. This practice was immediately forbidden in breaststroke, but gave birth to butterfly, whose first official appearance was at the 1956 Games in Melbourne. This style is now one of the four strokes used in competition.
Women's swimming became Olympic in 1912 at the Stockholm Games. Since then, it has been part of every edition of the Games. The men's and women's programmes are almost identical, as they contain the same number of events, with only one difference: the freestyle distance is 800 metres for women and 1,500 metres for men.
Find more about Swimming at www.olympic.org/swimming
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"One of the finest swims you'll ever see..." And then Ledecky proceeds to better that time by nearly 10 seconds four years later.
Brandon yessssss
A league of her own...simply the best female freestyler.
งงลงงชง. .ฃๅว่
The birth of a champion
@@r0sy67 qàm
Katie swims like she's possessed by Poseidon. She's unbelievably strong in the water. So proud of this lady.
Ms KM almost legendary
ALMOST?! ALMOST?!!!!!!!!!!! nope shes a legend
b
Along with Micheal Phelps I look up to Katie, she is both amazing and powerful when swimming
Ms KM Lol,iam 11 I can barely swim 200 meters freestyle (am pretty advanced)
She’s not the next Michael Phelps, she’s the first Katie Ledecky
Amen to that!
No, Phelps is better than anyone that's lived
@@pillwolak well, technically she is the first katie because it’s first ever for women, micheal was for men.
Couldn't even drive at that age, but can win an Olympic gold medal. Insanity.
I know rightttt? 🤯
If she was this far ahead against Olympic swimmers imagine her High School Swim team she was probably already to the other side of the pool and finished before they even started to head back.
AmericanNinja85 probably hahahahhahahaha
AmericanNinja85 have you seen the vids? She laps them, some twice. Even in a 50 meter pool
Oh! Interested! What’s the link?
AmericanNinja85 The thing I notice different with Ledecky is she’s sooo graceful in the water... She doesn’t look like she’s struggling at all... Just take a look at her legs and compare it how others are kicking like crazy and she’s just gliding through the water!😍 It’s absolutely beautiful to watch!😍
@@gabrielakaiser2075 What?? How??? Haha, my 25 m fly time is like 20 seconds.
Ledecky and I are the same age, I remember watching this on tv stuffing my face with Cheetos whole she won a gold medal.
Well... Cheetos are something to be proud of.
Maybe you could win a medal if they added Cheeto eating to the Olympics!
Same lol
😂😂😂😂
🤣😅
Imagine her in high school after she won gold, probably the new popular kid
she was probably homeschooled. Most athletes of that caliber are, to accommodate their rigid practice schedule
+Luke Brown oh cool!
+Brooke Elliott I know this is the Internet and people make shit up all the time, but. My sister attended the same school Katie ledecky went to, Stone Ridge (Sacred Heart). My sister actually met her.
+blueeboy really? that must have been amaazing
blueeboy I believe you , I do contracting for stone ridge in bethesda , great school
she probably looks at this now and thinks MAN I WAS SLOW
Dopage
Dopage make everyone look slow before it
LOL fr
It's just funny at how she dominated the race and was virtually unheard of at the time. The announcers just kept counting her out and doubting... now they know better!
Exactly
Man it's crazy to think that Katie is only going to be 19 and in her 2nd Olympics. This girl is amazing. Truly hope she achieves everything she wants to in 2016.
She'll definitely win the 400 and 800 but the 200 may be a struggle for her. With the likes of Sjostrom and Pelligrini and even Missy Franklin if she is in good form in this race there will be a battle.
+John Smith Don't forget Femke. For me, the biggest 100/200 freestyle talent.. If she gets her head right Wouda can get her swimming 52.2 & 1.54.0
+John Smith Well, the one thing she will have in her favor is that there is no 1500 meters on the schedule. Even though she won the 200 at the worlds she could have gotten the meet or world record if she hadn't come off the 1500 the night before.
Yep, she sure did!
There have been a lot of people who were 19 at their second olympics. Michael Phelps, Elizabeth Beisel, Katie Hoff, etc.
And this was the last time Katie Ledecky had a real challenge. 4 years later she lowered her mark by 10 seconds. TEN.
The commentators are such homers for Adlington. It's utterly delicious listening to them slowly realize what a force Ledecky is.
ikr!
Well what can you expect. Yes it is quite satisfying, but Adlington really was the favorite, no one expects some 15 year old newbie to win gold, and most certainly NOT by two and a half seconds.
Just like the NBC broadcasters are homers for the US, what do you expect? They are the broadcasters for the country, so it only makes sense they would be bias for the team of the people watching.
Even the American broadcasters were favoring Adlington. If you watch their broadcast, they spend the first half commenting on how Ledecky was going too fast, too soon, and how her "wily competitors" were going to tire her out and catch up with her. The slow realization is every bit as delicious in that broad cast as this one.
grifter84 the commentators are Australians Bruce McAvaney and Nicole Livingstone not British. Also Adlington was expected to win and no one thought a 15 year old would win one of the most gruelling races on the program for women. So the commentators were not cheering for Adlington because she was at a home games!
I forgot she was only 15 when she started dominating. Her Rio performance was absolutely out of this world!
Still one of my all time favorite athletic performances. It's not just that she won, its that she went full throttle from the start and never looked back. A 15 year-old with that much courage can only set the world on fire. Love it.
I bet some people thought Ledecky was probably a one hit wonder and would never do much of anything in her career after the Olympics. Boy were they wrong.
She did it again 2021 ♥️
Cabeswater123 yes she did, but omg if Ariarne had an extra 30 metres she would’ve pipped ledecky and won the 200,400 and 800 trio
@@shoenan2294 ikrrr my palms were sweating the last half 😅
"ledecky may not have the endurance" HAHAHAHAHAHA GUESS AGAIN
kurt lol, she has more than enough endurance! Heck, she could do another 200m!
@@laurastandley4834 her 800m split in her current 1500 free world record is 8:11.70, so saying she could go another 200m after going 8:14.63 is an understatement
IMAGINE LEDECKY NOT HAVING THE ENDURANCE
"And I took that personally." --Ledecky, probably.
“Ledecky may not have the endurance in the second 400” that comment aged well...
IMAGINE RACING AGAINST HER IN THE 1500M FREE. That's a suicidal🤣🤣🤣🤣
She got faster lol.
@@user-dv3sm1ff5q She just won the 1500 gold medal in the first ever olympic event ove that distance.
@@ashokeshwaran that's what i'm saying. These commentators have no idea.
little ledecky was a machine!!!! her blistering pace wore everybody out. adlington was out of breath when she touched the wall, while ledecky looked like she could go another 200m!!! cant wait til rio !!!
thanh mai If she could do another 200m that is not a good thing
Why
She’s dominate in the 1500m of course she could go a little more than 200m more 😂
I love how Katie just attacks the water. There isn't much strategy beyond going out fast and daring anyone to catch her. For most swimmers in distance races that strategy would be asking for trouble but Ledecky has insane stamina and strength and a killer instinct which people don't talk about..
did anyone else audio lag at the gun start? I hear "Take your mark" and then the gun and theres about a 3 second lapse before they dive...
yes i thought it was just me lol
Qaszx
Actually, I'm a swimmer, I suppose it's normal.
@@beabalta hey, i was wondering, if it's normal, when are you actually supposed to jump in the water if the gun start is delayed?
@@danahdusha Ah, We use buzzers instead of the gun. However, this differs on the venue of our competitions. Most of our competitions are SMP, so they use a buzzer. While for the Manila Games (Palarong Maynila). They use a gun. You know, I know what I saw~ It's just a bit normal I guess.
that's unbelievable for 15 years old!!.. can't wait to see the 19 year old super human version. I hope it's a good healthy race!!
Well she just won the women's 400m freestyle, and potentially many more.
+Fengzula U! S! A!
wow 2016 800 meter was ridiculous!!!
***** Yes she was... she won 800m freestyle gold in 2012
THE NEW MICHAEL PHELPS
here after she won this for the third time, what a legend
Same!
Same here!
No pressure, just the entire royal family watching😅
no one: the commentators: adlington adlington adlington adlington ledecky won't be able to hold on to this adlington adlington adlingt
She is becoming a legend, already winning the 400m free in Rio 2016!
i hope we see her in 2020 and me in 2024!
The day the world was stunningly introduced to the most dominant female swimmer of all time ... as a 15-year old. In Rio 2016? She was TEN SECONDS faster than the pace she ran here for gold, in possibly the most dominant swim in the history of the sport. G-d alone knows her limits, if she has any.
Jesus christ!!?!??! A 15 year old in Olympics swimming 800m!??!?! I cant even do a butterfly lmao..
I take my hat off to all the young swimmers on here. I hope you olympic dreams come true. I love watching young athletes succeed if they can, but enjoy themselves regardless.
I actually almost got into Junior Olympics last year! This helps me feel even more determined thank you!
7 years later and this is still one of my favorite Olympic moments in history!
Great fact about this race: USA Swimming keeps age-group records for all races. Katie Ledecky broke the Under-16 record for US women in the 400 freestyle in this race...and then swam 400 more meters and won gold in this 800m event. In other words, she swam the first 400 meters of this race faster than any 16 or under girl had ever swam 400 meters when they gameplanned to use all their energy in just 400 meters. Insane.
The premier of the greatest woman swimmer who ever touched water.
honestly, when youre going against ledecky, its really just a race for 2nd
It's crazy to remember, Adlington BEAT Ledecky earlier in the qualifying heat. No one saw this dominate performance coming.
Ledecky was 3rd in the heats. Obviously, she was saving something and quite possibly trying to get the others to take her a little too lightly. This is nothing, though, compared to what Ledecky has done since. She now has the 23 fastest times in history in this distance. She is a superwoman.
One of the rare times in sports history when a new world superpower in a sport is unveiled, out of nowhere, on the sport's grandest stage.
FYI ... the commentators are Australians: Bruce McAvaney and Nicole Livingstone; who have been calling Olympic swimming in Australia for decades. For them to not know about Ledecky demonstrates how much of a surprise this was.
I'm American and I didn't know Ledecky either. Let's be honest. There's only so much anyone knew about a 15 year old swimmer. lol
She's 19, not 15
+New Leash On Life 2016-2012=4 19-4=15 She was 15 years old Go learn maths again
New Leash On Life She is 19 NOW. In this video, she was 15.
You have to remember that Missy Franklin, with her 4 gold medals, was the big American teenage star of the London Olympics. Then you had Phelps, Lochte, Soni, Coughlin, Vollmer and all the other US stars. Katie was, quite frankly, an after thought. Plus she was only 15 and going up against the defending Olympic champion in her home country. Add in that it was Katie's first international meet and it's no wonder she was overlooked. That all changed, of course, by the end of this race.
She is so poise and firm since when she walked out. Extremely focus on her goals and ignoring all camera and expectations from the crowd. That my friend is a spirit of a warrior. Incredibly Focus Fearless.
Katie Ledecky is one of the most badass athletes I have ever seen. She absolutely destroys her competition.
8 years later and she’s done it again! She’s a legend
9 years later *
And again ❤
Ledecky burned out the competition with that blistering pace.
It was blistering then, what word can you use for this years 800 LOL
Britton Rhoades Morador lava?
I can't believe katie was only 15 here! That was an amazing swim!!
Its so heartwarming to know that ledecky is still a fine swimmer after so many years
Everyone thought she went too fast the first 100m hahahah. She just killed it and smashed the competition WHAT A SWIM!!!!
"this is so quick, maybe too quick" lol Ledecky is just sick 5:07
The fact that they swam 16 laps around a 50 meter pool is just so incredible
The only competition she has is that WR line.
4th wall breaking?
just think, she was a freshman in highschool
F0K!nG FR35hm3n
And 11 years later, there is still nobody close to her over 800m and 1500m - just a superb athlete.
she looks so much older than she actually is
it's the dope
she doesn't use dope. she is a true swimmer. she used to swim in the same pool that my nephews swim in. My sister volunteers for my nephews swim team and knows her mom very well. she is a true olympian.
yes
@@nerfmyaccount That's why Bolt looks older than he is. He also dopes.
Doping
The Olympics in 2012 was just a preview of 2016. I could watch Ledecky swim all day.She has the greatest swimming stroke in the history of swimming. she makes every other swimmer look like an amateur.
I remember watching this live- I was so excited because at the time I was on a swim team, and I remember thinking wow she’s amazing and then after she won she was beaming and I remember thinking, wow she has such a beautiful smile
One of my all time favorite races. A beautiful and amazing performance by Katie Ledecky!
"Ledecky may not have the endurance in the second 400"....A completely fair comment in the moment, but pretty funny to look back at 10 years later. Cool to have a real-time accounting of the emergence of probably the greatest female swimmer of all time.
3:38, do all competitive female gymnasts jump and dive into water like that?
Is it fair to say she's the best distance swimmer of all time? Maybe for either gender
+Skyler Taylor sun yang is really good, he smashed the WR for the 1500m
She smashed the world record in the 400 800 and 1500
+ChimpyCheese you are comparing a guy to a girl, what do you expect. I know they are both fast but guy times are always faster than girl times in each event. So it doesn't matter what the times say
Simply, Sun Yang has 1 Wr she has 3
+ChimpyCheese ok fine, times do matter. Now let's go to age ok? She was 15 in this match and won a gold medal in her first Olympics. Sun was 16 in 2008 but didn't even place for any medals for any of his solo events. She would be the current best distance swimmer for both genders at her age. You want more proof? Check how many medals she has, since her debut into the professional swimming world. Then compare it to his. And then on top of that, she holds the world records for the 3 distance events. She is the best, hands down
The birth of the new superstar.
I got tired just watching this race..
can you even stand in water? LOL
I’m 15 and barely breaking 6:00 in the 500🤦♀️ KATIE IS A LEGEND FOR BEING AT THE OLYMPICS AT 15 jeez I feel like a loser now. She’s such a queen🤩
I also barely break 6 with a 5:58 😂 don’t feel bad
Gotta come back to this every once in a while. Female athlete of this young century.
As someone that follows hockey and swimming pretty closely (ironically from the perspective of someone who was utterly terrible at sports as a kid), I can say that Ledecky's a fascinating swimmer and probably the best female to ever do it. She's probably going to be one of the last true under-18 swimming sensations from the USA for a while to come, mainly because the field over here has gotten so deep over the years since 2012 with true professionals from top-to-bottom in every category. IIRC, Ledecky still was the youngest swimmer on the 2016 US team in her age 19 year. Before her reign of terror, nobody truly paid much attention to distance swimming, but it would not shock me if the crop has markedly improved by 2021. Although she's obviously going to be so far ahead of the group once again, it'll be interesting to see if the 2nd and 3rd place folks are able to break some of Ledecky's prior times.
wow. she is from my city and goes to the high school near by. cant wait for this years olympics. so young and talented. wow
you are a liar because katie has already finished high school. she is 19
Maybe he meant she went to the high school near him. Geesh.
You know this for a fact?
I doubt it carrie! He is in high school so he obviously meant what he said.
Yeah well she is my religion, beat that!
Ledecky current record for 800 is 8.06.68 in Austin
LOL
Good to see her to improve this run here. 8:04.79 in the final of 800m free
Lol the fact that they doubted her made this 10 times better.
Years later and she still is winning gold
It's funny "she may not have the endurance to keep this up"😂
She looked extremely strong in the water! You could see that she was pushing herself! So proud of you Katie.❤️❤️
I agree with the British commentators. This is the most amazing swim I've ever seen. Wow!
Just saw Ledecky win the 800m in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics, her third gold in row for the 800m. Is she going to keep training for the 2024 Olympics? She held on to win in Tokyo by just over a minute against a hard charging Ariane Titmus of Australia.
She has said in past interviews she plans to
A second u mean? Not a minute
Not just Paris in '24, but maybe LA in '28!
I can’t wait to see Katie Ledecky at the 2024 swimming 🏊♀️ events at the 2024 summer Olympic Games in Paris France 🇫🇷
3:38, do all competitive female gymnasts jump and dive into water like that?
“That pace may be unachievable in terms of endurance”... yeah, for every swimmer except Ledecky
Full disclosure I don't care very much about the Olympics. In fact I would find it far more entertaining if sailfish competed in swimming events, cheetahs ran the 100 and 200m and the pronghorn antelope was a participant in the marathon. That said Katie Ledecky is not just the the greatest female swimmer I have ever seen, she is arguably the most dominant athlete ever. How can a long distance event in swimming be over within 25m?? And the scary thing is she will get better. No matter what line of work you're in you have to respect true greatness even if you care very little about the profession. This young lady is the definition of awesome and there will be more total dominance from her in the future.
well said
And she beat second place in the 800m freestyle today by about 80m. Just unreal.
This is where the most dominant swimmer ever started it all. Mireia Belmonte: first among the mere mortals, that second place is more than a silver.
Who’s here after Katie Ledecky’s last race in Tokyo? 🇺🇸
i have just noticed her head movement ..the same like Michael Phelps
Katie is so so beautiful and talented!!!! I am so happy she did well!! Her and Simone and the entire Olympic team are BADASSES!!! They are all so beautiful and talented!!♥️
It is interesting that these two announcers question Ledecky's ability to last this distance - at least three times. They both announced the 800m trials the day before and saw her beat everyone in the heat group. Methinks they were just trying to make this race more dramatic.
As a swimmer I don’t know how to tell people that the commentators aren’t in the wrong. It’s unheard of for someone to hold that pace. It’s supernatural almost.
Of course, this performance was essentially the birth of a (biologically-relative) freak-of-nature. 4 years later, she won the same event by a 12 second margin and got close to touching the 8 minute marker.
the fact that the commentators weren't convinced that katie could keep it up, and she proved them wrong YESSS
The new kid on the block SMASHED the reigning champion.
I want to be like Katie Ledecky one day. I freaking love swimming and my swim team and nobody thinks I can do it but I'm the youngest but the fastest on my swim team and I want to prove everyone wrong and do the impossible. Katie Ledecky is my idol and always has been. I love her
Look at our young Ledecky GO! The USA birthed another water bending legend.
Incredible performance by Katie Ledecky.
The commentators have obvious British accents. Katie Ledecky schooled them on race commentary. As the race is going, not how you wish it.
Hmm, suddenly my accent radar seems off.
Those are not British accents. Both are Australian.
Today She has done it once again at Tokyo Olympic. Haha! True Legend!
Way to finish with Gold Katie! Improved swim over the past few years has paid off with a few medals won including record time. Congratulations for persevering!
Watching all these young and super skilled and competitive athletes motivates me to become fitter and more ambitious. Fantastic kids :)
her form was different than a lot of the other competitors I cant wait till rio Olympics its going to intense
She shaved almost 10 seconds off her time in Rio compared to her time in London. Quite possible that she will be under 8 minutes in a couple of years. Just wow!
eek is anyone else watching her in Rio tonite? GO KATIE!
desde Perú katie ledecky Felicidades he leído q eres la q posee una técnica muy cerca de la perfección. q emocionante. Felicidades.
I remember watching this race. NBC did not interview her or highlight her. I believe they was some feeling that she doped herself. Now she is the face of US women swimmers.
@Bubba Ho-Tep It sounds strikingly similar to the narrative of one Michael Phelps. No one is close to her talent, so, like Phelps at that young age, she will be improving upon her own personal bests for some time.
Katie is from my hometown and is still on the waiting list to the neighborhood pool!!!
Katie swims like a Dolphin in the water. natural.ability.
Funny how I never knew her in 2012, but she was a wonder in 2016, I hope she brings more surprise to the table by 2020.... I am now a fan
Ledecky should dominate women's distance swimming for the next decade or more.
trwent She is allready at 17 the best freestyler on the planet + has lowered 5 times world records so far : 2 times the 400 ,2 times the 1500 and 1 times the 800 . This summer , she will probably lower one or two more in Kazan . Go katie
This aged like a fine wine. Lol.
@IrishInot Thank you. It is a shame for her, though--and for Janet Evans--, that there was no 1500m for women in the Olympics before 2020.
And Ledecky killed it again in the 2016 rio!
Okay like I know Katie Ledecky is the Freestyle Queen but I can't help but feel bad for Adlington here. This was supposed to be her moment to shine and finally win the gold, especially in her home country, but instead she was caught by surprise but a 15 year old American. But this was also the birth of a freaking legend.
I assure that Ledecky would get gold medals in 400-800 free, and be on podium in 200 free in RIo!!!
+mozart mario so you are predicting that Katie will win 7 gold medals? i don't think that she is swimming in the 100 free in the american trials so she won't swimming the 100 in the olympics and she won't get in the medley relay
You sir are correct, she just won the 400m free.
***** : She is invincible in 400-800-1500 free :)
Your right. She won gold in the 800 and 400 and she also broke the world Record. She won gold in the 200 as well. She also swam the anchor leg in the 4 x 200 freestyle which caused them to win. She got silver in the 4 x 100 Metre. 100 Metre Freestyle is not her specialty.
Oooomggggg can they shut up about Adlintong like can they see how Ledecky is swimming
Women's version of Michael Phelps (Olympic hardware)? And Ledecky had a 4-year head start on Phelps.
Not really, Phelps swam in the final in the 200m Butterfly in the 2000 Olympics at 15 but didn't place. He also had more races than Ledecky, not to take away from her because she's a much better distance swimmer.
But she can only do free so...
I remember watching this live and yelling “KATIE LEDECKY” all day