Katie Ledecky wins bronze medal in Olympic 400m freestyle. Fans disappointed she did not win a gold medal. Are medals the only way athletes and fans measure success?
Last Saturday in Paris after Katie Ledecky finished third in the 400-meeter freestyle A fan on X wrote, “Maybe we should only celebrate the golds. If you’re not first, you’re last.”Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky is considered to be the greatest female swimmer and one of the greatest Olympians of all time. She has won seven Olympic gold medals and 21 world championship gold medals—the most in history for a female swimmer.
Ledecky is the world-record holder in the women’s 800m and 1500m freestyle (both long course and short course) as well as the former world record holder in the women’s 400m freestyle (long course). She also holds the fastest-ever times in the women’s 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events.Fast Forward: Paris 2024 Olympics
But on Saturday Australia’s Ariarne Titmus thwarted her at the Olympics for the second time in a row. Having won Olympic gold at the 2016 Summer Games in the same event, Ledecky looked to get back on the victory pedestal. But in a much-anticipated rematch Titmus dominated from the get-go to win the gold, with Ledecky finishing a distant third behind Titmus and 17-year-old Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh.What, No Gold?
Ledecky’s bronze medal finish did not impress some of the fans online, who were expecting more. A fan on X wrote, “Maybe we should only celebrate the golds. If you’re not first. You’re last.” in response to a post by Team USA, highlighting Ledecky’s 11th Olympic medal. Making expectations clear, another fan wrote, “We need to start getting gold.” Ledecky herself has set fan expectations. Seven Olympic gold medals is no mean feat. But she has now been beaten twice by Titmus at the Olympics. Sharing his disappointment another fan said, “I thought she was meant to be good.”An Olympic Medal is an Olympic Medal
After the event, Ledecky said: “It’s always good to get a medal for Team USA.
