Bethesda’s Katie Ledecky was named USA Swimming’s athlete of the year for the third consecutive year late Saturday, becoming the first female swimmer to earn that distinction since the award was introduced in 1981.
The honor came less than two months after Ledecky, 18, pulled off an unprecedented sweep of the gold medals in the women’s 200-, 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyles — setting three world records in the process — at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia. She added a fifth gold as the anchor leg in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
[Ledecky shatters 800-meter world record | Watch the complete race video]
Ledecky, who graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in June and has committed to swim for Stanford following the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, joins Ryan Lochte (2009-11) and fellow MCSL alumus Mike Barrowman (1989-91) as the only swimmers to earn three straight athlete of the year awards from USA Swimming.
Her 800-meter performance in Kazan – featuring a world record and a 10-second margin of victory – earned Ledecky, the 2012 London Olympics gold medalist in the same event, the Phillips 66 Performance of the Year award for the fourth straight year, joining Michael Phelps (2006-09) as the only swimmers so honored.