Katie Ledecky Pushing Toward LA28 With Focus on ‘Want Times’
With all of the training, distance and build up to a big meet, one of the biggest issues facing competitive swimmers is a burnout.
Several months of getting in elite shape, followed by a taper, then a performance on the biggest stage takes a lot out of everyone, no matter how fast or how elite they are.
Katie Ledecky, 28, has been dealing with that at issue on the world stage since she was 15. For her, the key is not to focus on winning, but her improvement.
“It goes way back to when I first started swimming. For some reason, I came up with this name for my goals. I would call them ‘want times.’ And I would write out my “want time” before every meet. I just thought it was kind of a special thing when I had the special name for them,” Ledecky told The Athletic.
“I always really loved the fact that swimming is based on time. You can really quantify your progress and see your progress. I would look at them after my meet and I would calculate the time that I beat the ‘want time’ by or how far off I was from that goal. And I would save that piece of paper for the next meet.”
That translates into victories for Ledecky, but with a different focus, she finds different victories within her swims, even gold medals swims like she put together in Paris, winning the 800 free and 1500 free gold medal.
“I understood from a pretty young age that you can’t control what the other swimmers in the race are going to do. So all you can do is set a time goal for yourself and try to reach it. I think that focus has really allowed me, going into the big competitions, to stay focused on my own lane and not get caught up in what other people are doing or how they might take their race,” she said.
It helps her focus on her current swim and place also, rather than her world record swims or victories of the past.
“There have been moments where it’s challenging. Especially when I went on the streak. At a certain point, you do start thinking about trying to keep up that record, and you start thinking about medals at certain points. But I think I always come back to those times instead,” Ledecky said.
“I really love the training. That always brings me back to that focus. It’s not just about trying to improve times in competitions. It’s about trying to improve times in practice as well. And I think once you start doing that and seeing improvement in training, you gain confidence that you can do some of that in meets as well.”
That includes LA 2028.
“I think balance is really important. Not getting too consumed in swimming and maintaining all of your other interests and your other passions as well,” she said. “I think when you get to a certain level, you might have this initial thought that you have to go all in and only focus on that. But it’s really important to maintain good balance.”
The most recognized face in the sport, Ledecky has made sure to support the younger generation, just like older swimmers did for her.
“I was in the London [2012] Olympic Village with people like Dana Vollmer and Rebecca Soni and Missy Franklin. They just always looked out for me and kept one eye on me the whole time. That just meant the world to me, that they were going about their process and getting ready for their races, but they wanted to make sure that I felt like I belonged at that level,” Ledecky said.
“I think it’s always been important for me to return that, now that I’m one of the veterans on the team. I want to always keep one eye on the rookies and make sure that they feel like they belong, make sure they feel comfortable, make sure that they feel ready for their races and make sure they feel really supported.”
Read the full Athletic story here.
