Katie Ledecky’s biggest challenge at the U.S. Olympic trials could come from someone who’s not even in the pool.
The most dominant female swimmer in the world is entered in six events in Omaha, giving her a chance to match or even top Shirley Babashoff’s 40-year-old feat of winning five events at the Olympic trials.
“I think that’s probably the only record I have left, the five wins at trials. I don’t think anyone’s done that,” Babashoff told USA TODAY Sports last month.
“Katie is going to do it, I think.”
Ledecky begins her chase of Babashoff on Sunday with the 400-meter individual medley. She’s also entered in all five freestyle events. She’s seeded first in the 400- and 800-meters, where she holds the world records, as well as the 200-meter free.
At 19, Ledecky is the same age as Babashoff was when she dominated the trials. But that is where the comparisons between the two end.
Babashoff liked to toy with the competition, letting everyone else get out ahead of her. And then, just when everyone thought she’d finally been beaten, she’d pounce.
“For me, swimming a race right was going slow, feeling my way around, let everyone get tired and then shrink them into mental midgets,” Babashoff, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, said with a laugh.
Ledecky, on the other hand, is an unrelenting force, starting fast and never letting up, regardless of the distance.
“She does not swim a race like I would. I don’t know if she’s ever tried it or not. Negative splits are a lot easier,” Babashoff said.
But she appreciates what Ledecky does, and is eager to see if she’ll have company in the record books by the time trials end July 3.
“She’s the same age as me in ’76, so that’s kind of cool,” Babashoff said. “She looks incredibly strong. She just looks incredibly strong at distances. The 100, that’s just always up in the air. It’s so fast. One little mistake and that’s a tenth of a second, hundredth of a second.
“If she gets the 100, she’ll get all the rest.”
And Babashoff will be there to see it.
Babashoff retired after the Montreal Olympics and rarely attends swimming events. She’s been too busy raising her son and working as a postal carrier in Southern California. But she’s planning to attend trials as part of the celebration of the 1976 team, which is documented in the new film, The Last Gold.
The Americans were soundly beaten throughout the Montreal Games by East German swimmers who were later found to have been pumped full of testosterone as part of the communist country’s massive doping program. Babashoff alone has four silver medals that should probably be gold.
But in the final race, the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, the Americans beat the East Germans in what is still considered one of the greatest upsets in swimming history. Babashoff swam anchor.
“It’s such a good documentary, oh my gosh. It almost made me cry,” said Babashoff, who chronicles her experiences in Montreal in a new book, Making Waves: My Journey to Winning Olympic Gold and Defeating the East German Doping Program.
“It was like a good feeling cry, though. Not a bad feeling cry,” Babashoff added. “They did such a great job on this.”
It’s rare for records to stand as long as Babashoff’s have, and she’s proud to have done something so exceptional it’s been impossible to duplicate. So far.
But that doesn’t mean she’s rooting against Ledecky. Quite the opposite, in fact.
“If she does it, that’s wonderful,” Babashoff said. “There’s more to life than the records you have.”
