Katie Ledecky margin of victory memes, explained: Why USA swimmer always goes viral after big Olympic wins

Bryan Murphy

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Katie Ledecky margin of victory memes, explained: Why USA swimmer always goes viral after big Olympic wins image

In the majority of swimming races, there are eight racers swimming at a time. It makes for an entertaining few minutes in the pool as they each speed through the water to be one of the first to finish. 

When it comes to watching Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle, sometimes it's like she is the only one in the pool.  

No one has the endurance that Ledecky has in the swimming pool. The American swim star has dominated in the lengthy freestyle events, with three Olympic golds in the 800-meter event and a gold in the 1500-meter event. 

This year, Ledecky is looking to expand her medal count, potentially passing Jenny Thompson for both the most Olympic medals out of a female swimmer and gold medals out of a female swimmer. 

How badly has she beaten the rest of the competition? Here is a look at Ledecky's history in the two events and how her excellence has gone viral. 

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Katie Ledecky margin of victory memes, explained

When it comes to lengthy races in the pool, there are very few who can even contend with Ledecky. The seven-time gold medalist is looking to add to her Olympic collection in 2024 when she competes in the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle in Paris. 

Since she is so dominant, it has resulted in viral moments almost every time she competes. 

Katie Ledecky 800m history

For over a decade, quite literally no one was able to come close to beating Ledecky. The American swimmer won her first Olympic gold in the event in 2012, and then defended it successfully in 2016 in Rio and in 2021 in Tokyo.

It got to the point where Ledecky was essentially competing against herself, seeing if she could beat her previous marks. Not only did she consistently break her own world record, but no other swimmer was sniffing her times. 

It led to this viral graphic from the Olympics in Tokyo where Ledecky was in good company with just herself:

That graphic of the fastest 800-meter times remained true until a Canadian teenager came in and stunned the swimming world this year — Summer McIntosh defeated Ledecky in the 800-meter freestyle at USA Swimming's 2024 Southern Zone South Sectionals.

While Ledecky is still the favorite in the event, McIntosh has emerged as a legitimate threat to take out the Washington, D.C. native, and snapping what would be four consecutive gold medals in the women's 800-meter freestyle. 

Ledecky holds the world record for the fastest time in the 800-meter freestyle at 8:04.79, which she set during the Rio Olympics. 

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Katie Ledecky 1500m history

The 1500-meter is a fairly new race at the Olympics. (It was just introduced in Tokyo.) With that said, Ledecky is no stranger to the lengthy race. She has been competing in the 1500-meter in other international events like the World Championships and Pan Pacific Championships. 

So, it came to no one's surprise when Ledecky won the first gold medal in the Olympic 1500-meter event, defeating the rest of the field by at least four seconds in Tokyo. 

As the defending champion from Tokyo, she took her first step in securing a spot at the top of the podium at the heats of the 1500-meter freestyle when she demolished the rest of her group. 

When Katie Ledecky's in the pool for the 1500m free, it's a race for second place. 🤷‍♀️🇺🇸 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/PLvJD9MRz7

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 30, 2024

The same can be said about the finals. Ledecky cruised to a gold-medal finish in the 1500-meter event, beating the field by more than 10 seconds to defend her gold, breaking her own Olympic record in the process. 

Ledecky holds the world record for the fastest time in the 1500-meter freestyle at 15:20.48, which she set during the TYR Pro Swim Series in 2018. She was unable to top that mark at the Olympics, but she'll be just fine with an Olympic record and gold medal. 

Bryan Murphy

Bryan Murphy Photo

Bryan Murphy joined The Sporting News in 2022 as the NHL/Canada content producer. Previously he worked for NBC Sports on their national news desk reporting on breaking news for the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, in addition to covering the 2020 and 2022 Olympic Games. A graduate of Quinnipiac University, he spent time in college as a beat reporter covering the men’s ice hockey team.