Topics

Bruce Gemmell smiled and shook his head after being asked if he could come up with an American comparison to his star pupil, Katie Ledecky. Was there another swimmer with the potential to dominate races? No one immediately came to mind. In fact, the only comparison he could think of was Shane Gould, the Australian who held every world freestyle record from the 100 to the 1,500 meters in the early 1970s. Ledecky's not there yet, but that's how high her potential is, Gemmel said. Ledecky, just 17, is showing that potential at the 2014 National Championships in Irvine. After dominating the 800-meter freestyle Wednesday, Ledecky followed that up by finishing more than a body...