Katie Ledecky is the best swimmer ever

Interesting points. I think it would be more fair to say that she is the best distance freestyle swimmer ever. How do you think she would stack up in a sprint like a 50 or 100m?

Phelps is much, much, much more versatile than Ledecky. World records in three different individual disciplines (freestyle, butterfly, and IM) and world class in one more (backstroke).

Ledecky is clearly the best women's freestyle swimmer ever and it's not even close. She's more dominant than Usain bolt was at the 100m/200m, and that's saying something. She might be the best single stroke swimmer ever (I'm not a real student of swimming), although Mary T. might have something to say about that.

I'd give it to Phelps overall, I think. Versatility counts for something. He might have won more gold medals in freestyle if he didn't spend so much time working on other events. Who knows. But, if you want to give it to Katie, I won't argue. She's not human.

Ledecky has a couple of international 4 x 100m medals. Ledecky certainly isn't embarrassing in 100m freestyle. If Ledecky grew up focusing on 50m freestyle, she most likely would have the ability to medal in 50m. Katie Ledecky has developed such a comparative advantage 400m through 1500m, I am sure focusing on events 400 through 1500 takes away a bit from her 50m and 100m freestyle skills. There are only 168 hours in a week.

Thorpedo!

Ian Thorpe. Won 18 golds in non-relay freestyle in 200, 400, & 800. (Also medaled even in the 100).

To give you an idea of the comparison between Ledecky and Thorpe, it would take Ledecky 1:55 to swim to one of her top 200 meter times, while it would take Thorpe only 1:44!

Since Katie Ledecky is only 20 years old, she will far surpass Ian Thorpe in freestyle gold medals. Stating Katie Ledecky's 200m freestyle PB is slower than Ian Thorpe's is irrelevant. I didn't state fastest freestyle swimmer, I stated best freestyle swimmer ever.

Katie has three metric world records - set them when she just turned 19. She's now well past her peak.

Phelps had a much longer career at his peak, set his last of three records at age 24. He's the best ever.

She can’t be better than Phelps if she can’t bear Phelps. That’s completely illogical.

But she actually might be able to beat Phelps in the 1500. Not sure about their 1500 times. Not sure if Phelps has ever swam that distance at the pro level.

*beat Phelps

Can you clarify what you're actually claiming? Your title says best swimmer ever and your post says best freestyle swimmer ever. It's like you starting writing with one idea and slowly managed to change your own mind before you got to the end.

Also, why does this actually matter. Comparing athletes in different sports, different eras, and different genders always seems kinda pointless to me. Katie Ledecky is obviously one of the greatest swimmers ever and probably the greatest female swimmer ever, given her recent dominance and WRs. But that said, there tends to be less depth at the very top of women's sports, the same holds true for running. Not that any of that matters I suppose. They're both great swimmers.

Medal numbers from swimming are a joke as they are grossly inflated. They both have nothing on Carl Lewis. Overall, Olympic swimming is a joke because it is limited to tall people in wealthy households. They are not elite athletes compared to basketball players, soccer players and runners. The beauty of basketball, soccer and running is they are not limited to the elites and encompass individuals of all heights. Face it, if you aren't 5'10" or taller as a woman or 6'4" or taller as a man and born into wealth, odds are you aren't going to be a professional swimmer.

Respect for freestyle swimmers wrote:

Since Katie Ledecky is only 20 years old, she will far surpass Ian Thorpe in freestyle gold medals. Stating Katie Ledecky's 200m freestyle PB is slower than Ian Thorpe's is irrelevant. I didn't state fastest freestyle swimmer, I stated best freestyle swimmer ever.

Which freestyle events would she beat Thorpe in?

She's obviously one of, if not the very best female swimmers ever.

Phelps is the best swimmer ever.

Thorpe was IMO the best freestyler ever.

comedyrelief wrote:

Medal numbers from swimming are a joke as they are grossly inflated. They both have nothing on Carl Lewis. Overall, Olympic swimming is a joke because it is limited to tall people in wealthy households. They are not elite athletes compared to basketball players, soccer players and runners. The beauty of basketball, soccer and running is they are not limited to the elites and encompass individuals of all heights. Face it, if you aren't 5'10" or taller as a woman or 6'4" or taller as a man and born into wealth, odds are you aren't going to be a professional swimmer.

But yet you list basketball?

If you're a man under 6'4" you have a much better chance of being a professional swimmer than you do basketball player.

comedyrelief wrote:

Medal numbers from swimming are a joke as they are grossly inflated. They both have nothing on Carl Lewis. Overall, Olympic swimming is a joke because it is limited to tall people in wealthy households. They are not elite athletes compared to basketball players, soccer players and runners. The beauty of basketball, soccer and running is they are not limited to the elites and encompass individuals of all heights. Face it, if you aren't 5'10" or taller as a woman or 6'4" or taller as a man and born into wealth, odds are you aren't going to be a professional swimmer.

Basketball is most definitely not designed to encompass individuals of all heights.

To a lesser extent, neither is running. Look at the top contenders across almost all long distance and sprinting events. You have occasional exceptions like Bolt and Mottram, but very rarely is there a tall runner competing at a high level.

comedyrelief wrote:

Medal numbers from swimming are a joke as they are grossly inflated. They both have nothing on Carl Lewis. Overall, Olympic swimming is a joke because it is limited to tall people in wealthy households. They are not elite athletes compared to basketball players, soccer players and runners. The beauty of basketball, soccer and running is they are not limited to the elites and encompass individuals of all heights. Face it, if you aren't 5'10" or taller as a woman or 6'4" or taller as a man and born into wealth, odds are you aren't going to be a professional swimmer.

This^

Don't forget that Ledecky also recently set the NCAA record in the 400y IM.

Another great swimmer to think about: Caleb Dressel, who now holds the NCAA records in the 50y free, 100y free, 100y fly, 100y breast, 200y IM + is generally regarded as the best 200y freestyler but won't get to swim it at NCAAs.

And Sarah Sjoestrom ain't exactly chopped liver either.

I'm not a big Katinka Hoszu fan, but her accomplishments are also very impressive.

The 100m freestyle is the standard bearer for the fastest person in the pool, any distance longer than that is pointless. I'll give you one style point for the 50m free, too.

Until someone nabs Cesar cielos tech suit era 100m world record, it's him.

Caleb dressed owns the textile 50m WR, and Cameron Mcevoy the 100m textile WR

Bonus points for Anthony Ervin being amazing, and Jason Lezak owning the fastest 100m relay split by a body length for all time (46 flat basically)

Phelps split 47.12 in 2016, fastest among non-anchors, and not too shabby among so many races, which yielded him 5 golds and 1 silver (he has 65 golds in international competition). He also has had the fastest ever 100m IM and 100m Fly splits.

comedyrelief wrote:

Medal numbers from swimming are a joke as they are grossly inflated. They both have nothing on Carl Lewis. Overall, Olympic swimming is a joke because it is limited to tall people in wealthy households. They are not elite athletes compared to basketball players, soccer players and runners. The beauty of basketball, soccer and running is they are not limited to the elites and encompass individuals of all heights. Face it, if you aren't 5'10" or taller as a woman or 6'4" or taller as a man and born into wealth, odds are you aren't going to be a professional swimmer.

This is tiring. Born into wealth? What kind of make-believe crap is this? In actuality, there aren't many swimmers that are....just go down the line with all the greats. Micheal Phelps -father was a state trooper. Grant Hackett - father was a policeman. Ryan Lochte - father a swimming coach. You could go on and on, but for the most part the best swimmers are from blue collar families. The thing that sets them apart is that they do have genetics in their favor. Not only for height but also for swimming talent. Not many have that. It's certainly more elite than basketball, where all you need is a little athleticism and a lot of height and there you go. In distance running, all you need to be is an ectomorph. A swimmer can never be that since a swimmer is naturally powerfully built. likewise, the runner can never be a top swimmer since they have no power and is hard for them to put on muscle. Legally. They are also too short and have small feet.

It would be very easy for someone to try and prove that they're any good in swimming. There are public pools with lessons and trials (many times free) all over the metro areas of any city. The fact of the matter is that most people are just not good enough.

Ever heard of 3 point shooting and point guards? There is a dozen of them under 6' tall in the NBA. 95% for men is 6'2", 95% for women is 5'8". Can pretty much guarantee there are more people under those numbers in professional basketball, running, football and soccer than there are in on Team USA for swimming, the physics doesn't lie. As far as poverty is concerned, one can also guarantee there are more individuals from poverty in those sports than in any pool. Simply look at the racial demographics. NBA and NFL are 2/3 or more black, team USA swimming is about 1% black. Can't call it a real sport if the world's best athletes are not fully represented, it's just like golf and the Winter Olympics.