Katie Ledecky's Dominance Should Transcend the Pool

Katie Ledecky's dominance should transcend what she does in the pool, but somehow that narrative has not yet seeped into the mythos that Ledecky has built for herself through her outright bludgeoning of anyone who has stepped into the pool with her over the past four years.  In the prelude to the Rio Olympics, Ledecky's accomplishments have been brought to the forefront of the athletic community to the point where some have stated that she is the most dominant athlete in the world.  If you hold any skepticism towards that statement, maybe an excerpt from Dave Sheinin's article in the Washington Post about Ledecky will give you some perspective:

           

               “She’s the greatest athlete in the world today by far,” said Michael J. Joyner, an anesthesiologist and researcher for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., specializing in human performance and physiology. “She’s dominating by the widest margin in international sport, winning by 1 or 2 percent. If [a runner] won the 10,000 meters by that wide a margin, they’d win by 100 meters. One or 2 percent in the Tour de France, over about 80 hours of racing, would be 30 or 40 minutes. It’s just absolutely remarkable.”

Yet it is this dominance that has been highlighted ad nauseam in every article written about Ledecky over the past six weeks with very little mention of what that means for her persona.  It is great to hear how hard she trains, how much she has sacrificed to be in a position to do something that has only happened once in the history of swimming at the Olympics (win gold in the 200, 400 and 800 meters), and how her stroke mechanics have changed over time.  But Ledecky's narrative should go beyond mere regurgitation of her dominance in the pool and move towards what she means for the female athletic movement as a whole.

In this time of hyper awareness of women's accomplishments and issues in athletics, Katie Ledecky should be the poster child/role model for the female athletic movement because she has become the most dominant athlete in the world solely due to her performance in the pool.  One needs to look no further that the Sports Illustrated Cover for the Rio Olympics to see that symbolically she has reached this pinnacle.  Ledecky is in the forefront right next to Michael Phelps and in front of everyone else including Kevin Durant.  Ledecky didn't do this by wearing ostentatious outfits, or appearing in a Beyonce video, or posing in ESPN's Body Issue, or partaking in a national endorsement campaign, or making outrageous posts on social media.  She is on this cover because of what she has done in her respective sport.  This is not to demonize female athletes for partaking in any of the aforementioned mediums, but it sends the message to young female athlete's that they cannot succeed based on their performance alone.  There has been no Tim Duncan in female athletics; until now.

Katie Ledecky's accomplishments have made her the most dominant athlete in the world, and it should make her a beacon for all young female athletes who wish to pursue their craft.  It may be hard to get that message out considering that she turned down millions in endorsement deals to swim at Stanford, but that should also go to perpetuate what she means to the athletic community as a whole.  Katie Ledecky is the antithesis of what we expect from high profile athletes, and that message should especially resonate with young female athletes. The young female athlete of today should see Katie Ledecky and realize that they do not need to objectify themselves, that they can choose an education over millions of dollars, they can be outwardly humble and internally competitive, that they do not have to be omnipresent on social media, and that they can be recognized as an athlete first and a celebrity second.  When Katie Ledecky steps up on the blocks this coming week, people will know that she is not up there for money, endorsements, or personal exposure.  She may be the first major athlete in a long time that is up there for the love of the sport and the thrill of competition. That, more than her training and ability, is what should make Katie Ledecky's dominance transcend the pool and make her a role model for all young female athletes.