What happened to Katie Ledecky during 2019 World Championships?

Every athlete goes through ups and downs in their career and Katie Ledecky is no different. At the 2019 FINS World Swimming Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, she clinched one gold and two silver medals.

However, she was forced to withdraw from both the 1500m and 200m freestyle preliminaries due to an undisclosed illness. Much was made of her absence from both events.

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Katie Ledecky at the 2019 World Championships

A four-time Rio Olympic gold medalist, Ledecky was set to compete in the 200-400-800-1500 freestyle event at the 2019 FINA World Championships. She began her charge with the 400m freestyle contest, but fell short to 18-year-old Ariarne Titmus of Australia and finished second.

This brought an end to her winning streak at the event. This marked Ledecky's first defeat in 400m at a major international competition since 2013. Titmus won by securing a 1.21-second lead over her, finishing the race in 3 minutes and 58.76 seconds. Meanwhile, Ledecky finished in 3:59.97, which was significantly below her world record of 3:56.46, set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

However, the next day saw her become the fastest qualifier for the 1500m final event, finishing in 15 minutes and 48.90 seconds. This marked a 2.68-second lead over the next quickest swimmer. Unfortunately, the renowned athlete decided to withdraw from the event due to her illness.

Following her exit, USA Swimming announced that Ledecky hadn't been well since her arrival in Gwangju. National Team Managing Director Lindsay Mintenko issued a statement:

"Katie has not been feeling well since arriving to Gwangju on [Wednesday], and these precautionary measures are being taken to ensure her well-being and proper recovery, and to allow her to focus her energy on an abbreviated schedule,”

The athlete spent seven hours in the hospital for tests followed by two days of rest. She explained:

"I knew something wasn't right and I had lost a couple of pounds and my appetite wasn't there for a couple of days leading into the meet."

Katie Ledecky hadn't withdrawn from a major international meeting in eight years and remained undefeated in the 1500m event. She lamented:

"Never have I gotten to the point where I felt I was gonna have to get out."

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Katie Ledecky returned to competition in the 4*100m relay

Three days later, Ledecky returned to compete in the finals of the 4*200m relay event along with her teammates Simone Manuel, Melanie Margalis and Katie McLaughlin. Although they set a new American record, the contingent finished second to their Australian counterparts.

Meanwhile, Ledecky qualified for the finals of the 800m event. Despite lagging in the first half, she eventually passed Italy's Simona Quadarella in the final 50m to clinch victory by 1.41 seconds. This was her 15th World Championship title.

Despite the unexpected result at the Championships, Katie Ledecky felt delighted and looked forward to improving herself. The Olympic gold medalist stated:

"I am happy how I swam through it and obviously the world is getting faster as well and there were some great swims at World Championships."

She further elaborated:

"Those competitiors are really gonna be tough next year , they are continuing to improve so you know all those races are still going to be tough races for me but I am healthy and I know I need to keep training well and keep my focus on those races."

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Katie Ledecky clinched the gold medal in the 1500m event. She ended her Tokyo conquest by securing another gold medal and two silver medals.