Katy Ledecky. If you don't know the name, then you should learn it. She is perhaps the most impressive female athlete in the world as she continues to shatter her own world records.
Frank Busch, the national director for USA Swimming, says he has never seen a female athlete perform like Ledecky has. She is possibly the best distance swimmer and freestyle swimmer in the world. Teammates, such as Olympian Missy Franklin, call her and her performance "incredible." Ledecky's performances are so outstanding that some consider her to be more impressive than Michael Phelps.
Not all of the attention she has been getting has been positive, though. During a meet in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky was drug tested a total of four times, one of which was before the meet started.
A German television channel, ZDF, broadcasted accusations of doping against Ledecky based on the report of two swimming analysts who were present at the meet. The analysts said they found her performance to be "suspicious." The analysts even questioned her at the meet about doping.
How does she do it? Nine training sessions a week in which she swims 5,500 to 8,000 or more meters. This does not include the additional workouts that swimmers call "dryland" that she does in addition to her practices in the pool.
Do the accusations bother her? Not at all, according to Ledecky. She has said that she respects the system and will continue to comply. That doesn't sound like an athlete trying to hide anything to me.
As a swimmer who was part of the same year-round club swimming team, Nations Capital Swim Team, I had the privilege of watching Ledecky swim in person. Her practice ethic and focus are what make her an amazing swimmer, and her talent in unrivaled.
