Katie Ledecky: Just Add Water

Katie Ledecky just left Paris with four more medals, making her the winningest female swimmer in Olympic history. In fact, she now has the second most Olympic medals of any swimmer, behind Michael Phelps' 28. 

To many, Ledecky feels like she's been around forever, despite the fact that she's only 27 years old. Today, we look back on Katie's career and highlight some of the incredible accomplishments that make her the GOAT of women's swimming. 

The Beginning

Born on March 17, 1997, in Washington, D.C., Katie displayed an early affinity for water. Her parents, both swimmers themselves, introduced her to the sport at the age of six. It soon became evident that Ledecky possessed an extraordinary talent. Swimming with the Palisades Swim Team up until she started high school, she became a local legend. With her long, lean frame and an innate sense of rhythm, she effortlessly glided through the water, leaving her competitors in her wake.

Swimming for Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart high school in Bethesda, Maryland, Ledecky twice set the record for the 500 yard freestyle. Following the conclusion of her freshman year of high school (and at just 15 years old), Ledecky headed to London to compete in the 2012 Olympics. 

Making A Splash

Despite being a heavy underdog to reigning world champion Kate Ziegler, Ledecky shocked the world by winning the 800 meter freestyle. Mireia Belmonte García​ from Spain finished second in a race that wasn't close. 

Can you imagine being an Olympic champion and returning back to high school to start your sophomore year?!

Ledecky would eventually graduate and head to Stanford to swim for coach Greg Meehan. 

Rio In 2016

Katie In Rio

​The 2016 Rio Olympics were a showcase of Ledecky's versatility. She won gold medals in the 200m, 400m, and 800m freestyle races, as well as the 4x200m freestyle relay. Not only did she win the 400m and 800m, but she set world records in both races. She would also add a silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay. 

Her 5 medals were the most of any woman at the Olympics. Only Michael Phelps (with 6 medals in Rio) won more.

Distance Advocate

The 1500 meter event didn't become an official women's race at the Olympics until 2020 in Toyko, and Ledecky would win gold in that inaugural event. 

Most recently, she blew away the field in Paris in a race that was never contested. 

GOAT

While Ledecky's career isn't over, many have already crowned her the greatest women's swimmer of all time. Ledecky has 14 Olympic medals, including 8 golds. She's broken 16 world records, two of which still stand in the 800m (8:04.79 set in 2024) and 1500m freestyle (15:20.48 set in 2018) events. 

She's won 16 individual world championships, putting her one ahead of Michael Phelps. She's also been Swimming World's Female World Swimmer of the Year five times! 

​What's so impressive to me is that despite winning so early in her career, Ledecky has continued to get better. Similar to other professional athletes, often the quest to beat yesterday is what drives their careers. 

Training

So beyond great natural ability, how did she do it? 

For one, Ledecky takes both her training and her diet very seriously. In an interview with Women's Health, Ledecky described 10 pool sessions and 5 gym sessions each week as the foundation for her training. 

She also said she "loves to cook" and has leveraged nutrition to help her swimming. Some of her favorite foods include eggs, granola, and chocolate milk. For those that haven't seen the video below, I'm impressed every time I watch this. 

Ledecky also likes Core Power protein shakes as a post-workout go-to, and you can buy them in bulk here. 

For More

For more on Katie, I'd encourage you to check out her book, which was just released in June. In terms of what's next, it's anybody's guess, but given her performance in Paris, I'd expect her to continue dominating women's swimming. 

Buy On Amazon

Here is a preview of the Audible version. 

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