Katie Ledecky Named AP Female Athlete of the Year

katie-ledecky-usa-smile-wave-medal-2017-world-champs

Photo Courtesy: SIPA USA

Editorial Coverage provided by

Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky was named the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Tuesday according to a report by NBC Washington. Ledecky is the eighth female swimmer to win the award and the first swimmer to take the honor since 1996, when Amy Van Dyken was named athlete of the year.

Ledecky was named the winner after balloting by U.S. editors and news directors where she received 351 points, just beating out tennis star Serena Williams who earned 343. Olympic track star Allyson Felix was third with 248.

Ledecky broke out on the international stage in 2012, shocking the swimming world when she won gold and set a world record in the 800 freestyle at the London Olympics when she was just 15-years-old. Since then she has won 5 Olympic golds, 14 World Championship titles, and broken 13 world records.

Most recently she competed at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, where she became the record for most World Championship gold medals by a female athlete. While Ledecky did not set any personal best times at the meet, she nonetheless left with six medals (5 gold, 1 silver), her biggest ever haul at an international meet.

In the middle of her sophomore year at Stanford, the 20-year-old just set a new American record in the 1650 freestyle at the Art Adamson Invite in November, shaving a little more than half a second off her previous record with a 15:03.31.

You can read the original report from NBC Washington detailing Ledecky’s award here.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use