Katie Ledecky‘s breakout as something more than a distance swimmer came at the 2014 U.S. Championships.
At age 17, she crushed reigning World champion Missy Franklin by 1.24 seconds in the 200m freestyle and then broke the 400m world record for the first time.
Ledecky previously snatched world records in the 800m and 1500m freestyles in 2013.
The question had to be asked. Just how versatile could she be?
“She’s not there yet, but certainly the standard is Shane Gould,” her D.C.-area coach, Bruce Gemmell, said on the pool deck after the 200m free in August 2014 in Irvine, Calif.