Katie Ledecky, far out in front: one of the most astonishing sights in sports and, by now, one of the most familiar. It was twelve years ago that Ledecky shot to an early lead in the eight-hundred-metre freestyle final at the London Olympics, and then, instead of fading, kept lengthening her lead. It’s been eleven years since she first broke the world records in the eight-hundred and the fifteen-hundred freestyle, and ten years since she broke it in the four-hundred. Eight years ago, she won four gold medals at the Rio Olympics, smashing two of her own world records in the process; last year, she won her sixteenth individual world-championship title, surpassing Michael Phelps for the most ever. Again and again, there was Ledecky, alone on the television screen, swimming her distinctive, syncopated stroke in the middle of what looks like an empty pool. During some races, the cameras can capture the competitors behind her only by zooming out.
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