Fun With SAS ODS Graphics: Katie Ledecky Wins 9th Gold With Four-Peat in 800m Freestyle

[tc]

A short ODS Graphics program that produces a series plot showing how the amazing Katie Ledecky led all at every split from start to finish enroute to winning a gold medal Saturday in the 800m freestyle for the fourth consecutive Olympics!

Btw, here's an old ODS Graphics vector + scatter + xaxistable plot take on Ledecky's 2016 victory in the 800m freestyle.

* Fun With SAS ODS Graphics: Katie Ledecky Wins 9th Gold With Four-Peat in 800m Freestyle
  Data: olympics.com/en/paris-2024/results/swimming/women-s-800m-freestyle/fnl-000100--;

proc import file="~/WomensSwimming800mFreestyle.xlsx" out=swimmers dbms=xlsx replace;  * Get data;

proc sql;                                        * Prep data for charting;
create table swimmers2 as
select s.*,
       put(rank,1.)||'. '||trim(s.swimmer)||' ('||trim(country)||'), '||put(maxtime,mmss7.2) as name,
       ifn(distance='Finish',800,input(compress(distance,'m'),3.)) as meters 
from swimmers s
join (select swimmer, max(time) as maxtime from swimmers group by 1) s2 on s.swimmer=s2.swimmer;
                                                 * Calc time behind leader at splits;
create table swimmers3 as
select s.name, s.meters, mintime-time as time_behind from swimmers2 s
join (select meters, min(time) as mintime from swimmers2 group by 1) s2 on s.meters=s2.meters
union all                                        /* Add a starting point for all swimmers (t=0) */
select distinct name, 0 as meters, 0 as time_behind from swimmers2
order by name, meters, time_behind; 

ods graphics / noborder height=6in width=8in;   * Let's chart the swimmers' times!;
proc sgplot nowall noborder noautolegend;        * Series plot of time behind leader at each split for all swimmers;
title justify=left "PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS WOMEN'S 800M FREESTYLE";
series x=meters y=time_behind / group=name curvelabel curvelabelloc=outside;
scatter x=meters y=time_behind / markerattrs=(size=0pt) x2axis y2axis; * Make distance also display at top of chart (x2axis);
xaxis display=(noline noticks nolabel) grid type=discrete values=(0 to 800 by 50)  valueattrs=(size=8pt);
x2axis display=(noline noticks nolabel) type=discrete values=(0 to 800 by 50) valueattrs=(size=8pt);
yaxis display=(noline noticks) label="SECONDS BEHIND" valueattrs=(size=8pt);
y2axis display=none;
run;

DATA SAMPLE 

RANK	SWIMMER	COUNTRY	DISTANCE	TIME	PLACE	SPLIT
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	50m	00:27.6	1
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	100m	00:57.4	1	29.8
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	150m	01:27.9	1	30.44
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	200m	01:58.7	1	30.84
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	250m	02:29.7	1	30.97
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	300m	03:00.9	1	31.19
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	350m	03:32.1	1	31.18
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	400m	04:03.2	1	31.15
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	450m	04:34.4	1	31.24
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	500m	05:05.8	1	31.34
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	550m	05:37.0	1	31.2
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	600m	06:08.0	1	31.03
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	650m	06:38.9	1	30.9
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	700m	07:09.8	1	30.88
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	750m	07:40.7	1	30.9
1	LEDECKY Katie	USA	Finish	08:11.0	1	30.35

[tc]

Btw, at Paris in 2024, Ledecky's winning time of 8:11.04 was 1.25 seconds faster than the silver medalist. Ledecky won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by a similar margin (1.25 seconds) with her 8:12.57 time. At the Rio 2016 games, Ledecky's winning time of 8:04.79 - a world record that still stands today - was an incredible 11.38 seconds faster than the silver medalist. And at London in 2012, Ledecky bested the silver medalist by a margin of 4.13 seconds with an 8:14.63 performance. Wikipedia has much more on Ledecky and the world record progression in the 800 metres freestyle.