More than a decade after her 1st Olympic gold, Katie Ledecky is still swimming fast

Katie Ledecky will concede that a few things have changed over her long career at the top of swimming.

Like those nagging aches and pains.

She laughs when remembering her days as a teenager, back when she was just beginning to make her mark on the international swimming scene and it felt like her body was unbreakable.

When one of her older teammates was griping "about a knot in his back," Ledecky looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What's a knot?" Ledecky asked at the time.

No longer.

"All these years later, I kind of know what that means," she said, smiling.

Not that anyone else can tell.

At 26, Ledecky already has sealed her legacy as one of the greatest freestyle swimmers the sport has ever witnessed, yet she shows no signs of slowing down.

In fact, she seems to be getting better.

Ledecky started off the U.S. national championships with a dazzling performance in the 800-metre freestyle on Tuesday night, turning in her fastest time since setting the world record at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

I love watching <a href="https://twitter.com/katieledecky?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@katieledecky</a> compete.<br><br>She’s incredible. <br><br>Tonight she delivered the third fastest time in 800 meter freestyle history.<br><br>Ledecky just happens to own the two faster times too.<br><br>This was her fastest time in the 800 since 2016