Katie Ledecky crowned greatest athlete in the DMV
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Katie Ledecky after the Women's 800m freestyle final at the Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Katie Ledecky is the greatest living athlete from the DMV, according to thousands of Axios readers.
Driving the news: Ledecky bested Alexander Ovechkin with 81% of the vote in the finale of our bracket tournament.
Zoom in: Ledecky, raised in Bethesda, is the winningest female swimmer in history with seven Olympic gold medals.
- She's a true local who reminisced in 2018 to Washingtonian about the Palisades pool and Ledo Pizza.
Catch up fast: The competition brought together current and former living athletes from the DMV or who left their mark here.
- View past rounds below:
Round 3
Alex Ovechkin and Katie Ledecky are in the grand finale for our greatest DMV athlete contest.
- Ledecky, raised in Bethesda, is the winningest female swimmer in history with seven Olympic gold medals. She's a true local who reminisced in 2018 to Washingtonian about the Palisades pool and Ledo Pizza.
- Ovechkin is on a tear to become the NHL's top scorer of all time and as of yesterday evening is 67 goals away from Wayne Gretzky's 894-goal record. And he does all that without even a morning cup of coffee.
Round 2
We're midway through picking the best (living) athlete in the DMV, and the competition is fierce.
What's happening: Ovie knocked out Patrick Ewing, while Mr. National Ryan Zimmerman narrowly won over Joe Theismann.
- Meanwhile, Mia Hamm and Katie Ledecky easily defeated big Washington-area athletes (Elvin Hayes and Sugar Ray Leonard, respectively).
Round 1
Most of the first-round matchups to pick the greatest DMV athlete were close calls.
Rising: Katie Ledecky and Mia Hamm, both beating Washington football legends to stay in the game.
Closest: Mr. National Ryan Zimmerman's 56% win over Darrell Green.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add details from the latest rounds.