Attack on military camp a serious lapse: Antony
The attack on the military camp in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday that left 17 soldiers dead is "a serious…
The Olympics is in its 31st iteration, and the quadrennial event has been a delight for all sporting fans across the globe since the they were reestablished way back in 1896.
The Rio Games officially got underway on August 5, and since then plenty of records have been broken.
And while one may have heard of Serena Williams there are plenty of other sportspersons who have carved out a great name in their respective fields but are relatively unknown.
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And as the games progress, thestatesman.com will be highlighting some superb athletes, who have not really got the spotlight they deserve.
America is a great sporting nation, having produced the likes of Jesse Owens in athletics, Michael Jordan in Basketball and more recently Michael Phelps in swimming.
The ‘Baltimore Bullet’, however, isn’t the only active swimmer making some huge splashes in the pool. His compatriot Katie Genevieve Ledecky is something of a sensation herself.
She is just 19 years of age, yet has established herself as the world’s leading female middle and long-distance swimmer. Of Czech decent on her father&’s side, Ledecky is one of the world&’s finest swimmers without any doubt.
Four years ago, when her school-mates were planning their sweet 16th birthday bash, she created history by winning the 800 m freestyle in the London Olympic games.
Since then, the Washington native who studies at the prestigious Stanford University, has completed blitzed the field from the 200 to the 1,500 m freestyle.
Ledecky won four gold medals at the 2013 Barcelona World Championships and two years later, at Kazan, went one better, bagging five golds.
And at the ongoing Rio Games, she has already left her mark, winning the 400 m freestyle in a world record time of 3.56.46, and helping the US bag silver in the 4×100 m freestyle relay.
She is next in action on August 7 for the 200 m freestyle and later in the 800 m freestyle on August 11.
Fun Fact: Her uncle, Jon Ledecky owns the New York Islanders hockey team, which competes in the National Hockey League (NHL).
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