On An Island: A Look At the Statistical Dominance of Katie Ledecky in the 800 Freestyle
Statistics have always played a prominent role in sports, highlighted by the pursuit of a .400 batting average on the baseball diamond to the iconic 100-point performance of Wilt Chamberlain on the basketball court to the eight gold medals captured by Michael Phelps in the pool at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
This weekend, when the Atlanta Classic is held, Katie Ledecky will carry an amazing stat to the blocks in the 800-meter freestyle. The 16-lap event put Ledecky on the international map, as she won gold in the discipline at the 2012 Olympics in London. From that point forward, she has been untouchable while adding Olympic titles at the 2016 and 2020 Games.
In the 800 freestyle, Ledecky owns the 27-fastest times in history, including her world record of 8:04.79 from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Australian Ariarne Titmus is the No. 2 performer in history, thanks to a personal best of 8:13.59. The nine-second chasm between Ledecky and Titmus is stunning, and simple proof of the American’s dominance.
On seven occasions, Ledecky has been under 8:10, and she has gone faster than 8:11 in 10 races. In 17 outings, she has dipped under the 8:12 barrier. While Ledecky has obviously excelled in international competitions, her ability to produce faster times than anyone else in history during midseason meets further speaks to her class-of-her-own status.
To put Ledecky’s dominance of the 800 freestyle in perspective, consider the feats of Great Britain’s Adam Peaty and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom in their prime events. Peaty is the undisputed king of the 100 breaststroke, where he owns the 17-fastest times ever recorded. Meanwhile, Sjostrom claims the 22-quickest marks in the 50 butterfly.
Because numbers are stitched into the fabric of sports, Ledecky’s time in the 800 freestyle at the Atlanta Classic will be closely monitored. Perhaps it will be fast enough to hand her the 28-fastest efforts of all-time.
Unreal.
The Times
8:04.79 (World Record)
8:06.68
8:07.27
8:07.39
8:08.04
8:09.13
8:09.27
8:10.32
8:10.70
8:10.91
8:11.00
8:11.08
8:11.21
8:11.35
8:11.50
8:11.70
8:11.98
8:12.03
8:12.57
8:12.68
8:12.81
8:12.86
8:13.02
8:13.06
8:13.20
8:13.25
8:13.58