At the Tokyo Olympics 2020, American swimming great Katie Ledecky aimed to storm her way to the gold medal. However, Australia’s Ariarne Titmus stirred a shocking upset, leaving Ledecky with a silver medal. But ahead of her 400m dash, Ledecky received a verbal appraisal from none other than Olympic legend Michael Phelps.

Michael Phelps praises fellow swimming GOAT Katie Ledecky

With 28 medals to his name, Michael Phelps might go down in history as the greatest Olympian of all time. Not only does he hold the record of most medals, he also has the most gold medals of any athlete on the planet. In his last Olympics in Rio 2016, Phelps destroyed the field, but he wasn’t alone.

In the women’s events, a 20-year-old Katie Ledecky rose to the occasion and won five gold and one silver medal in Rio. Now 24, Ledecky aims to leave Tokyo with just as many medals, although her chances of emulating Phelps’ heroics are over. However, the 36-year-old legend had nothing but praise for Ledecky.

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“Her mental toughness is better than anybody I see in the game right now. She can handle adversity better than anybody. She honestly, talking about work? Oh my God. I had the privilege to train with her in the last training camp in 2016. I’m very happy she didn’t do the exact set with us that day, cause she would have destroyed.”

We can consider Phelps the GOAT of swimming, which means whoever he labels as the GOAT is definitely the greatest swimmer on the planet. Well, kudos to Katie Ledecky, the new GOAT of the American swim team.

Ledecky suffers early disappointment at the Tokyo Olympics 2020

Calling a silver medal disappointing is a testament to how good Katie Ledecky is in the pool. Only names like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt can boldly claim that a silver medal at the Olympics is a disappointment, but Ledecky’s reputation has bumped her into that category.

At the women’s 400m freestyle, Ledecky walked in the favorite but walked out second best. Humbled by Australia’s Ariarne Titmus, Katie was nothing but proud of the Aussie and praised her performance. In the post-race interview she said, “She really pushed me and I think it’s good for the sport.”

With this win, her hopes of leaving the Tokyo Olympics 2020 with six gold medals come to an end. However, she can still repeat her feats from the Rio Olympics by making it five gold and one silver in the subsequent events.

BREAKING: 20-Year-Old Ariarne Titmus Stuns American Legend Katie Ledecky to Win Gold at the Tokyo Olympics 2020