What do you do if you are the best swimmer in the world and you are back watching your former team aim for an NCAA title?
Be a counter for the mile of course.
Former Stanford national champion Katie Ledecky was the official counter in the 1650 yard freestyle for her former college teammate Leah Stevens on Saturday at the 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships.
Ledecky also handed out the awards in the event, in which she holds the American and NCAA record in 15:03.31, set in 2017.
Stevens finished fourth (15:47.31) behind Penn State’s Ally McHugh (15:39.22), Ohio State’s Molly Kowal (15:44.61) and Minnesota’s Mackenzie Padington (15:47.16).
Ledecky was part of an elite training group that practiced between NCAA sessions this weekend, along with Simone Manuel, Kelsi Dahlia, Ali DeLoof, Gabby DeLoof, Madisyn Cox, Bethany Galat and Lizzi Smith.
I always remember her coach telling my 13 year old daughter..that”Katie Ledecky is an even better person than swimmer “. It was a great message.
Did she have a student-athlete deck pass? ?
I’m more interested in what the time was for the swimmer but it’s fine
Jake Renie I thought the exact same thing being well versed in on deck access rules!! I guess when you are a champion yourself you get free run of the pool deck. I would count for my daughter all the time if I could just get on deck, LOL.
Yesssss! Even Katie Ledecky counts!!!! I LOVE this!!!! Pay attention, teammates who seem to never be available for this task ✅
#team
Kathy Allman YES
Kathy Allman ?
This is why college swimming is so much fun
#slownewsday
Erin Tobias nah- sometimes it’s nice to see a happy story about teamwork & friendship.
Class act??
That is why she is such a great person.
Always. If you get asked, and you know how :-), and unless you’re about to swim too, you count for your friends. Good to see
Stay humble ??
And she is just as focused as when she swims.
Of course she did ❤️
As a mom of 2 distance swimmers, finding a counter is always a task!
Great. Everyone she see this.
Nikki Sisson Kaylee Sisson Carol LaRue Sisson. Pretty cool
So did Simkne
Simone
What does a ‘counter’ do?
For the longer events, a counter puts a plastic flip book in the water that shows the odd numbered laps to help the swimmer keep track of where they are in the race.
Amy Hennies Priddle Thank you.
Simone Manuel did too for the same race
I didn’t recognize her. That’s what champions do. Beautiful
A lap counter who has swam the race knows how to do it right!
role model in so many ways.
I love reading this about her! An amazing swimmer who is a great teammate and friend as well!!
Awesome
That’s what teammates do! Right Kim Holmes O’Shea?❤️
Kathi Heapy yup!!!
“No one is too good to help with the lane ropes” or count! Good for her. She’s human, and a teammate. You could tell she was watching splits too.
Tara, Karrah is always so grateful for Sophia counting!
Of course Katie did, she’s a swimmer, member of a team, and distance girls never ever disappoint.
As a former distance swimmer, having a reliable counter is important. My distance swimmers usually find someone who will be on the team at least a couple years so they have the same person all the time. It’s interesting to see the bond that forms between the swimmers and their counters.
Awesome!!!