"I need to get better" - Katie Ledecky says there's 'great competition' in her events

Katie Ledecky is often dubbed one of the greatest female swimmers of all time. She has seven Olympic gold medals and fourteen individual golds in the World Aquatics Championships.

In a recently concluded FINA Swimming World Cup 2022, speaking to SwimSwam, Ledecky talked about the higher competition in her category:

"There's great competition in my events right now. And so, it's really exciting, it pushes me every day and I know, I need to get better."

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Katie Ledecky opens up about short-course races

The seven-time Olympic gold medalist had a great FINA Swimming World Cup 2022. In less than 10 days, Katie Ledecky smashed two consecutive short-course world records at the FINA World Cups in Toronto and Indianapolis.

Ledecky first competed in the 1500m short-course event at the FINA Swimming World Cup round in Toronto. With a time of 15:08.24, she beat the previous world record of Sarah Köhler of Germany by about 10 seconds.

She spoke about the expectations she had before the event:

"Didn't know what to expect coming into this meet. I don't really have a good sense of what good short-course times are for me right now. So I'm just trying not to put limits on myself and just go for it."

At the Indianapolis FINA World Cup, Katie Ledecky smashed her second world record in as many days in the women's short-course 800m freestyle. Ledecky beat the previous mark set in 2013 by Mireia Belmonte of Spain by over two seconds as she crossed the finish line in 7:57.42.

Ledecky and McIntosh at the Budapest 2022 FINA World Championships: Swimming - Day 1

Summer McIntosh of Canada finished second with a timing of 8:07.12, more than nine seconds behind Katie Ledecky.

Ledecky revealed why she competed in the competition, and said:

"Yeah, I just wanted to get some racing in, I really feel like, I'm just starting to hit my rhythm and training. And so, it's nice to just break up training right now and get it."

By winning the women's 4x200m freestyle relay with her teammates Claire Weinstein, Smith, and Bella Sims, Ledecky earned her 18th gold medal at the Budapest World Championships. Their time of 7:41.45 set a new record for the event.

Ledecky at the FINA Swimming World Cup 2022 Leg 3

In the last 10 World Championships, the United States has won this competition eight times. The event's silver and bronze medals went to Australia and Canada, respectively.

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What is next for Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky is looking ahead to the Paris Olympics in 2024 where she plans to participate in at least four events.

She won two events of choice, the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyles, as well as the 400-meter and 4200-meter freestyle relays at the World Championships in Budapest.

Even though Katie Ledecky moved her training from California to Florida, she has not slowed down. Since 2013, she has held the 800-meter and 1500-meter long-course world records, and at the global championships, she triumphed in both events by at least ten seconds. Despite infrequently competing in short-course races, she also broke records in both of these competitions this year.