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Katie Ledecky set her 11th career world record at the 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin, swimming the 800m free in 8:06.68 on Jan. 17. Katie won five gold medals at the 2015 FINA World Championships, becoming the first swimmer to win 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-m freestyles in a major competition. She also won gold in the 800m free relay and broke her own world records in the 800m and 1500m free. At the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, Katie became the first woman to win four individual gold medals as she topped the podium in the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m free and added gold in the 800m free relay.  She set a world record of 3:58.86 in the 400m free at 2014 Phillips 66 Nationals. She also won national titles in the 200m free and 800m free to secure a spot on the Pan Pacs roster. Katie eclipsed her own world records in the 1500- and 800-m free at the 2014 Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational in Shenandoah, Texas, with times of 15:34.23 and 8:11:00, respectively. She broke the American record in the 1650y free by nine seconds at 2013 AT&T Winter Nationals with a time of 15:15.17. Katie also added a win in the 500y free and a runner-up finish in the 200y free. She won four gold medals and set world records in the 800m free (8:13.86) and 1500m free (15:36.53) at the 2013 FINA World Championships. She broke the 1500m free record by more than six seconds. She set an American record en route to gold in the 400m free with a time of 3:59.82. Fourth gold came as a member of the 800m free relay. She won the FINA Trophy as the highest scoring female swimmer at the 2013 World Championships. She qualified for the 2013 FINA World Championships with wins in the 400m, 800m and 1500m free at 2013 Phillips 66 Nationals. She broke Janet Evans' 1988 meet record with a time of 15:47.15 at 2013 Nationals and also established a personal best of 4:04.05 in the 400m free. Katie placed second in the 200m free at 2013 Nationals. She won gold in the 800m free at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, breaking Janet Evans' 1989 American record with a time of 8:14.63. 

About the Mask Artist: A Denver native, Karen Kennedy; and her husband and two children have lived in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Michigan. Now, a retired business systems analyst living in Roxborough, she is gratified to be once again creating art. Though originally a student in commercial art, she found Fine Art to be her passion during her study of drawing, painting, and sculpture with four professional artists while living in Missouri. She continues her studies with local professionals and on-line courses with an impassioned goal of capturing the life, atmosphere, movement, and excitement of the world around her. Karen currently works in a variety of mediums painting animals, landscapes and portraits in her realistic style.www.karenkennedyart.com