Katie Ledecky expects to add 100m freestyle to Olympic trials lineup

By Rachel LutzAug 24, 2015, 3:40 PM EDT

NEW YORK — Katie Ledecky expects to add the 100m freestyle to her already heavy Olympic trials lineup in Omaha, Neb., from June 26 through July 3.

Ledecky, the World champion in the 200m, 400m, 800m and (non-Olympic event) 1500m freestyles, may swim the 400m individual medley at trials, too.

One U.S. woman has swum the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles at one Olympics — Shirley Babashoff in 1976.

Swimming those four events at the trials is also rare. Ledecky spoke about her possible Olympic trials slate while at Rockefeller Plaza for an appearance on TODAY on Thursday, following her historic World Championships sweep earlier this month.

“I still have to figure out my schedule with [coach] Bruce [Gemmell],” the Bethesda, Md., native told OlympicTalk. “It’s a nice option to have. I’ll probably swim the 100 [freestyle] for sure. We’ll see how that goes. The 400m IM is on the first day. I don’t have any other races that day, so it’s something that I might do to have one event out of the way and just to have a race under my belt. The next day I can really focus in on the 400m free. We’ll see.”

Ledecky is a heavy favorite to finish in the top two in the 200m, 400m and 800m frees at the trials to make the Olympic team (and the 4x200m free relay for her fourth Olympic event).

She would have a better chance in the 100m free than the 400m IM to make the Olympic team in a fifth event, given USA Swimming could take the top six 100m free swimmers to Rio for the 4x100m free relay versus the top two for the 400m IM and all individual events.

Ledecky’s personal best in the 100m free — 54.55 clocked on Jan. 15 — ranks her No. 42 in the world this year and No. 9 among Americans. That 54.55 came at a time of the year when swimmers aren’t peaked, and even though Ledecky swam slower 100m frees in April and June, there’s reason to believe she can be faster with a little more sprint training.

Adding the 400m IM isn’t a huge stretch – once or twice per week her practices are individual medley-based, to break up the monotony and work on each muscle group. It’s something that U.S. national team director Frank Busch has his eye on.

Ledecky’s personal best in the 400m IM is 4:41.70, which ranks No. 32 in the world this year and No. 9 among Americans. She rarely races it.

“I’d like to see her swim the 400m IM or the 200m butterfly because she’d probably do pretty good,” Busch told The New York Times.

VIDEO: Ledecky, at 16 months old, makes her first TODAY show appearance

Gemmell has already said the next piece of the race puzzle to improve is the turns.

“I still have a lot to work on for my turns,” Ledecky said. “Those are important things during short races. That would be helpful. And they add up a lot in the longer races. If I improve those, that could be really big.”

But Ledecky, whose dominance is greater at longer distances, shrugged off any mention of the open-water 10km event – a race that doesn’t have any wall turns.

“Oh no, I’m not really interested right now in going into open water,” she said. “One of my teammates, [2012 Olympian] Andrew Gemmell does open water. I really respect those swimmers. [It’s a] pretty long race.”

The Stanford commit will be very busy at the Olympic trials, whether or not she adds the 100m free or 400m IM.

If Ledecky chooses not to swim the 100m free at trials, she gains a rest day between the 800m preliminary heats and the 800m final.

Not that she particularly needs the break. Ledecky is the reigning Olympic champion in the 800m free, her only event in 2012 as a 15-year-old, and is 16.74 seconds faster than the No. 2 American this year.

Here’s a sample Ledecky Olympic trials schedule:

Day 1 Morning: 400m IM prelim
Day 1 Evening: 400m IM final

Day 2 Morning: 400m free prelim
Day 2 Evening: 400m free final

Day 3 Morning: 200m free prelim
Day 3 Evening: 200m free semifinal

Day 4 Morning: Off
Day 4 Evening: 200m free final

Day 5 Morning: 100m free prelim
Day 5 Evening: 100m free semifinal

Day 6 Morning: 800m free prelim
Day 6 Evening: 100m free final

Day 7 Morning: Off
Day 7 Evening: 800m free final

Day 8 Morning: Off
Day 8 Evening: Off

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*Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated no U.S. woman has swum the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles at one Olympics.

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 4:59 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

All of the American men lost before the fourth round. The last U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals was Andre Agassi in 2003.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek set French Open rematch

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 3:25 PM EDT

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Coco Gauff swept into the French Open quarterfinals, where she plays Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year’s final.

Gauff, the sixth seed, beat 100th-ranked Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 in the fourth round. She next plays the top seed Swiatek, who later Monday advanced after 66th-ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko retired down 5-1 after taking a medical timeout due to illness.

Gauff earned a 37th consecutive win over a player ranked outside the top 50, dating to February 2022. She hasn’t faced a player in the world top 60 in four matches at Roland Garros, but the degree of difficulty ratchets up in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Swiatek won all 12 sets she’s played against Gauff, who at 19 is the only teenager in the top 49 in the world. Gauff said last week that there’s no point in revisiting last year’s final — a 6-1, 6-3 affair — but said Monday that she should rewatch that match because they haven’t met on clay since.

“I don’t want to make the final my biggest accomplishment,” she said. “Since last year I have been wanting to play her, especially at this tournament. I figured that it was going to happen, because I figured I was going to do well, and she was going to do well.

“The way my career has gone so far, if I see a level, and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve, and I feel like you don’t really know what you have to improve on until you see that level.”

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Also Monday, No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia dispatched 36th-ranked American Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-1, breaking all eight of Pera’s service games.

Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, has now reached the quarterfinals of all four majors.

Jabeur next faces 14th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia, who won 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who played on a protected ranking of 68. Haddad Maia became the second Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open Era (since 1968) after Maria Bueno, who won seven majors from 1959-1966.

Pera, a 28 year-old born in Croatia, was the oldest U.S. singles player to make the fourth round of a major for the first time since Jill Craybas at 2005 Wimbledon. Her defeat left Gauff as the lone American singles player remaining out of the 35 entered in the main draws.

The last American to win a major singles title was Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought matches the longest in history (since 1877) for American men and women combined.

In the men’s draw, 2022 French Open runner-up Casper Ruud reached the quarterfinals by beating 35th-ranked Chilean Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5. He’ll next play sixth seed Holger Rune of Denmark, a 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7) winner over 23rd seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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