Vegas native Sullivan swims to silver in women’s 1,500-meter freestyle
TOKYO — Katie Ledecky’s gold-medal moment was also one of silver satisfaction for Las Vegas native Erica Sullivan.
The 20-year-old Sullivan, who went to Palo Verde High School and swims for the Vegas-based club Sandpipers of Nevada, finished a few seconds behind American swimming legend Ledecky in the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle final Wednesday morning. It was Ledecky’s sixth Olympic gold medal and her first in Tokyo, and Sullivan earned her first Olympic medal.
“It was sticking to my game plan, sticking to my stroke count, trying to stick to what I know,” Sullivan said. “At one point, I saw Katie ahead of me, and it gave me energy because I’ve looked up to her for years, and seeing she was several meters out and using it to get home.”
Ledecky recorded a time of 15 minutes, 37.39 seconds in the milelong race. Sullivan came in at 15:41.41, and Germany’s Sarah Kohler took the bronze medal in 15:42.91.
Sullivan was inspired by her father, John, who swam collegiately at Wisconsin. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in April 2017 and died three months later.
Mentally, Sullivan used therapy to overcome her depression over her dad’s death and improve her training. Physically, she prepared three years for this moment by timing a training regimen meant to maximize her performance for the Games.
Sullivan is committed to swim for the University of Texas but put college on hold to pursue her Olympic dream. She said she will be all Longhorns after Tokyo.
Ledecky bounced back from the worst finish of her brilliant Olympic career to make it back on top of the medal stand.
It wasn’t quite the breeze that everyone expected. Ledecky built a big lead right from the start, then worked hard to hold off Sullivan’s blazing finish.
“I think people maybe feel bad for that I’m not winning everything and whatever, but I want people to be more concerned about other things going on in the world, people that are truly suffering,” Ledecky said. “I’m just proud to bring home a gold medal to Team USA.”
It was quite a morning at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for Ledecky, who seemed a bit overcome by the ups and downs she experienced in a little over an hour.
She tumbled over the lane rope to give Sullivan a hug, let out an uncharacteristic scream toward the American cheering section in the mostly empty arena and seemed to be holding back tears.
In her first final of the day, Ledecky was blown away by her Australian rival, Ariarne Titmus, who made it 2-for-2 over the American with a victory in the 200 free.
Ledecky didn’t even win a medal — the first time that has ever happened to her in an Olympic race. She was far behind all the way, never getting any higher than her fifth-place finish.
“After the 200, I knew I had to turn the page very quickly,” Ledecky said. “In the warm-down pool I was thinking of my family. Kind of each stroke I was thinking of my grandparents.”
She crunched her eyes trying not to cry.
“They’re the toughest four people I know,” Ledecky said, “and that’s what helped me get through that.”