Getty Katie Ledecky looks on after finishing first place in the Women's 400 Meter Freestyle Final on Day Three of the TYR Pro Swim Series at Mission Viejo at Marguerite Aquatics Center on April 10, 2021 in Mission Viejo, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky will be competing in four events in the U.S. Swimming Trials this week: the 200m free, 400m free, 800m free and 1500m free.
All of her races, both the qualifying heats and finals, will be televised on either NBC or NBC Sports Network. The schedule of events can be found here, and the TV broadcast schedule here.
If you don’t have cable, here are some ways you can watch a live stream of all of Ledecky’s Olympic trial events this week:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of NBC (live in most markets), NBC Sports Network and 100-plus other TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Ledecky’s events on NBC or NBCSN live on the FuboTV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the FuboTV website.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV also comes with 250 hours of cloud DVR space.
Sling TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC (live in select markets), NBC Sports Network and 40-plus other TV channels via Sling TV’s “Sling Blue” channel bundle. This option doesn’t include a free trial, but it’s the cheapest long-term streaming service with both these channels, and you can get your first month for just $10:
Once signed up for Sling TV, you can watch Ledecky’s events on NBC or NBCSN live on the Sling TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, airTV Mini, Oculus, Portal, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Sling TV website.
If you can’t watch live, Sling TV comes included with 50 hours of cloud DVR.
AT&T TV
AT&T TV has four different channel packages: “Entertainment”, “Choice”, “Ultimate” and “Premier.” NBC (live in most markets) and NBC Sports Network are included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free 14-day trial.
Note that the free trial isn’t advertised as such, but your “due today” amount will be $0 when signing up. If you watch on your computer, phone or tablet, you won’t be charged for 14 days. If you watch on a streaming device on your TV (Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, etc.), you will be charged for the first month, but you can get still get a full refund if you cancel before 14 days:
Once signed up for AT&T TV, you can watch Ledecky’s events on NBC or NBCSN live on the AT&T TV app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung Smart TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the AT&T TV website.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to unlimited hours).
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of NBC (live in most markets), NBC Sports Network and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which you can try out for free with a seven-day trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch Ledecky’s events on NBC or NBCSN live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Android TV, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Katie Ledecky Event Overview
The 24-year-old Ledecky will have the opportunity to become the most decorated female Olympic medal winner in history this year. She has won five so far, and victories in 4-5 of her events would tie or beat Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina, who has more medals than any other woman in history with nine. If Ledecky medals in each of her events in Tokyo, she’ll have 10.
Ledecky spent months during last year’s lockdown working out and practicing at the Atherton, California home of former UCLA All-American Tod Spieker. The global pandemic resulted in a postponement of the Olympics last year, but Ledecky stayed focused, and kept grinding, working out in Spieker and his family’s home pool. The trials will be a good preview of where she’s at heading into the Olympics this summer.
“She’s already the greatest female swimmer in history, bar none,” three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines said about Ledecky. “It’s not even close anymore. What Katie has been able to accomplish the last nine years, that kind of dominance — yes, there have been some bumps and bruises along the way — but that kind of dominance has never happened in our sport.”
Ledecky will be competing in four events in the swimming trials. Here’s a brief overview of the events she’ll be competing in, along with the top contenders competing against her:
Women’s 200 Freestyle: Ledecky won gold in the women’s 200 at the Rio Olympics, and competitors Missy Franklin and Allison Schmitt shouldn’t challenge her much here.
Women’s 400 Freestyle: Ledecky also won gold in this event in Rio and a silver in the World Championships back in 2019. She’ll be joined by Leah Smith, who won the bronze in Rio, and Emma Nordin out of Arizona State, both of whom will be exciting to watch, but neither should come close to topping Ledecky here either.
Women’s 800 Freestyle: Ledecky, Smith, Ally McHugh, Bella Sims, Erica Sullivan, Ashley Twichell, Sierra Schmidt and Nordin will all compete here, with Ledecky once again the clear favorite.
Women’s 1500 Freestyle: This event will be making its debut in Tokyo, and it’s the lone event Ledecky appears in which she may not entirely dominate. Twichell took fourth in the 2019 World Championships, while Ledecky took ninth, so Twichell will be one to watch here. Competing with them will be McHugh and Nordin.