Have you ever broken a world record? Have you ever even tried? Remember those times when you would go to the library or the store and see the Biggest Book of World Records? You'd pick up the book, start to scan the stories, and be amazed that people could even think of breaking some of those listed records.
Well, imagine it: you pick something you would like to do. You start to train for it. You keep up with the training all through the hard months of labor, the intense concentration, the countless failures, and the stereotypes against you. Finally, your training is over. You compete. You win. And you are written down in history as a world record breaker.
For American swimmer Katie Ledecky, that feeling of uncontrollable elation and satisfaction in working toward a world record has occurred over three times. At only 15 years old during the 2012 Olympics, Ledecky won her first gold medal for the 800-meter freestyle. From there, she secured two world records in 2013 for the fastest time in both the 800-meter and the 1500-meter freestyle.
Success sometimes cripples people, but for the now 19-year old Ledecky, it only spurs her on to breaking her own records. For the opening swimming event, Ledecky wowed the world by not only securing gold again in the 400-meter freestyle, but also for breaking her own world record. Her previous record stood at 3:58.37; the new record now is 3:56.46. When asked how she felt after realizing she has broken a world record - her own world record, Ledecky says, "I had been so close to breaking it all year, and the past two years have been working towards breaking that [since 2014]". Most people are just starting finishing their freshman year of college, and this girl is breaking world records and winning gold medals at the Olympics.
Alongside Ledecky, Great Britain swimmer Adam Peaty broke his own world record in the 100-meter breaststroke and finally won a gold medal for his country (first time someone has won in swimming since Seoul Olympics in 1988). This 21-year old's first time competing in the Olympics was this year, and he says, "I did it for my country and that means so much for me." He became the first man in the world to swim the 100-meter breaststroke in under a minute - the new record is 57.13 seconds. For someone who used to be afraid of the water, he certainly is not suffering any relapses of fear!
Finally, no one could be surprised or more happy to hear that Michael Phelps secured his 19th gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Today, he will be competing in his first individual event at the 2016 Olympics, but he has already showed up and won the first of multiple medals the world hopes to see him earn in the coming days.
Stay tuned for more Olympic updates, world record breakers, and news on Rio's 2016 Olympic Games!
