Katie Ledecky only won silver but her Olympics are still off to a spectacular start

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:15 p.m. ET

Chris Chase

Katie Ledecky's Olympics seemingly got off to a disappointing start on Saturday night when Team USA was bested by heavy favorite Australia in the 4x100 relay, ending Ledecky's run at five golds in five races before it even started. Not just that, it was her first loss in 11 races on the major international stage, something that Michael Phelps couldn't even boast at the start of his career (and he wasn't even close).

But rather than a sense of doom and gloom, the 4x100 was a fine achievement for Ledecky and her American teammates. They were never going to beat the Australians and the sisters Campbell. The race was for silver and the U.S. won it.

So, to put it simply: Rio will still be the Katie Ledecky Olympics. Saturday was the appetizer.

Imagine a marathoner racing in the 200m next to Usain Bolt. That's about what it's like for Ledecky to compete in the two-length sprint of the 4x100. It's a completely different race, a splash-and-dash versus the events in which Ledecky excel — technical, highly-strategic back-and-forths that take so long NBC could take a commercial break and you wouldn't miss anything. And then she sprints like Nathan Adrian. Katie Ledecky has the range of Pavarotti.

There was a minor upset of sorts — that Ledecky was even on the relay. If she weren't the most dominant swimmer in the world, chances are she wouldn't have received the benefit of the doubt to race in the morning prelims. She finished 7th in the event at U.S. trials and hadn't done anything since to suggest she was a good fit for the sprint relay other than, you know, being the most dominant swimmer in the world. Because of that, U.S. women's coach David Marsh rolled the dice — although with Ledecky, it was like rolling a loaded die in a crooked off-strip casino. Shocker: It worked.

Ledecky put up the fastest split of the four morning swimmers on Team USA and was within five-tenths of a second of the fastest relay split in history. In doing so, the 19-year-old from suburban D.C. did Marsh a favor: She swam so fast there was to be no drama in selecting her for the final. Nobody could claim he was playing favorites. (For medal purposes, it wouldn't have mattered. All swimmers who compete, whether it be in prelims, finals or both, win the same medal.)

Not only did she make the finals team, but she was picked to anchor and lived up to the challenge, keeping the Americans in the second-place position they were when she dove in.

Ledecky was never winning five gold medals, she never expected to win five gold medals and the mere fact that she was able to anchor a sprint relay into a podium finish is a stunning result for a swimmer who excels in races 15 times as long.

Now the real Olympics begins for Katie Ledecky. Barring a false start or defrocked Irish priest tackling her in the middle of a race, she'll win the 400 and 800 freestyle by about 30 seconds, combined. She'll also be favored in the 200 freestyle as well as in her 4x200 relay with her U.S. teammates. That could be four golds without so much as a sliver of drama.