140triguy wrote:
Why wouldn't she be tapered? And for Ledecky, what does a taper really mean? She's broken world and American records without being "tapered."
I think she'll go all-in for this meet, and why not? Her meet prep may be more focused on the shorter races, especially where she adds depth to the relays, but that doesn't mean she won't be ready for a strong mile. In fact, since it's obvious she has the "base" to swim the mile, maybe a sprint focus for those relays will mean she'll have sharper and faster turns, and a stronger kick. The mile will be her first event on Saturday evening, unless she swims a leg on the prelims 4 x 100 FrR, but that will be more of a shake-out, get-the-lead-out swim. She's done well with a busy schedule before, and it's obvious she's pretty motivated.
I say under 15:00. 14:58.xx.
In regards to a “ busy” schedule, the NCAA limits all swimmers to 4 events, either 3 individual + 1 relay, or 2 individual + 2 relays. Most of the swimmers that can legitimately win 3 events, like Ledecky, go 3 + 1, as that nets the most points for the team. So, she won’t be swimming a bunch of relays, nobody will :-) She most likely will swim the 4 x 200 relay- which I believe is day 1. So her schedule would be day 1- 4 x 200 relay + 500 free, Day 2- 400 IM, Day 3- 1650.
Doubtful that fatigue will be an issue :-) 15 minutes on a 1650 is one of those barrier times, like a 3 hour marathon... Can’t see her not being psyched to go for it.