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Frank Deford: Olympic Swimmer Ledecky Is This Century's Perfect 10

NPR | By Frank Deford
Published August 3, 2016 at 4:50 AM EDT
U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky holds up her gold medal after winning the women's 800-meter freestyle swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Lee Jin-man
/
AP
U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky holds up her gold medal after winning the women's 800-meter freestyle swimming final at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Games in London.

In the television era, the second week of the Olympics is reserved for what is considered the marquee event: track and field.

So, the shared premier showcases of the first week are swimming and women's gymnastics. While swimming was always a spotlight sport, I was, if you will, sort of present at the creation when gymnastics became the new star lead-off hitter.

Click the audio to hear Frank Deford's full commentary on this issue. All of his sports commentary is available here: Sweetness and Light.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Frank Deford
Frank Deford died on Sunday, May 28, at his home in Florida. Remembrances of Frank's life and work can be found in All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and on NPR.org.
See stories by Frank Deford