Katie Ledecky remained dominant in the pool and won her 12th medal at the Olympics in yet another blowout victory on Wednesday night in Paris. The ACC actually had the audacity to claim the former Stanford University athlete as its own in a grotesque display of stolen valor.
She has not represented the Cardinal in the pool for more than five years!
Ledecky continued her remarkable run and broke an Olympic record to win the 1500-meter event by more than 10 seconds. As is typically the case, NBC had to change its camera angle for the race and zoomed way out to fit the other swimmers in the frame. It’s as if the broadcast network switches over to the ‘All-22’ view just to make it seem like the American isn’t swimming alone, even though she is.
Ledecky’s win moved her into a tie with Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin as the most-decorated female athletes in United States history. And she’s not done yet!
It actually would be a huge letdown if Ledecky does not cement her place atop that list with a medal in the 4x200m free relay on Thursday and the 800m freestyle event on Friday. Barring catastrophe, the 27-year-old is going to become the greatest American female swimmer of all-time, if she isn’t already.
Either way, the Atlantic Coast Conference does not get to claim her. It posted a graphic to celebrate Ledecky’s win as if she actually swam for one of its schools. Some nerve!
Katie Ledecky did not swim in the ACC.
Technically speaking, Stanford is now a member of the Atlantic Coast Conferenceβ as of the first of July. It’s super weird, but it’s the new reality.
And yes, Ledecky swam two years for the Cardinal on the collegiate level in 2016/17 and 2017/18. She won eight national champions and was a nine-time All-American.
All of those things happened more than six years ago. Ledecky swam her entire career in the Pac-12.
If the ACC wants to claim everything that Stanford does from this point forward, fine. If it wants to reference the fact that one of its new institutions has a decorated history in a specific sport, fine.
That was the intention here. The ACC tried to point to the Cardinal’s successes and remind everyone that they are now in a new conference. Doesn’t matter.
Ledecky’s win at the Olympics in 2024 had nothing to do with the Atlantic Coast Conference. Her 1500m win does not count for the ACC. Stop it!