Baker’s performance overshadowed by Ledecky hype
The women’s Div. I NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships came to a close last weekend and we’ve already seen some impressive swims at the men’s meet, which started Wednesday.
While the hype from last weekend’s meet was all about seeing if Stanford freshman and five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky would be the first woman to go under 15 minutes in the mile (she didn’t), I feel there is someone else who deserves to be talked about: Kathleen Baker.
Baker is a sophomore at the University of California and a two-time Olympic medalist — gold in the 400 medley relay and silver in the 100 back.
The North Carolina-native was named the 2017 College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Swimmer of the Year after her performance at the NCAA Championships, and rightfully so.
Baker was the only swimmer to outright win all three individual events she swam and she was a part of three top-three relays. Her performance helped lead the Golden Bears to a second-place finish behind Stanford.
Other swimming writers and bloggers felt Ledecky should have taken home the honors after her dominant performances in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle races and her tie for first with Louisville sophomore Mallory Comerford in the 200 freestyle.
(Yes, I know. Someone tied Ledecky. I can’t believe it either.)
But what makes Baker’s performance worthy of the swimmer of the meet accolade was her improvement from last year’s NCAA meet.
Baker had impressive time drops in every event she swam and moved up in the rankings. She was a part of four of the Golden Bears’ relays, while she was only in three last year.
Her 100 back leadoff leg in the relay is the second fastest time ever in the event, while her individual swim of 49.84 is the third fastest time. She had the quickest backstroke spilt in the 200 medley relay and her winning 200 back swim was good enough for the fifth fastest time ever in the event. Baker beat out last year’s champion and NCAA record holder Ella Eastin to take home the gold in the 200 IM.
Baker was dominate, but her incredible performance was over shadowed by the Ledecky hype.
