Katie Ledecky

Katie Ledecky (born March 17, 1997, Washington, D.C., U.S.) is an American swimmer who is one of the sport’s leading freestylers, especially dominant in longer races, notably the 800 meters and 1,500 meters. The winner of 14 Olympic medals—9 of which are gold—Ledecky is the most-decorated American woman in the history of the Games. She is also tied with Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most gold medals won by a female Olympian. In addition, Ledecky’s 26 world championship medals is a record for female swimmers.

Early life and education

Ledecky is one of two children born to Mary Gen (née Hagan) Ledecky, who worked as a hospital administrator, and David Ledecky, an attorney. The family lived in Bethesda, Maryland. The younger Ledecky began swimming at age six, after her elder brother, Michael Ledecky, asked to join summer swim programs. Katie Ledecky later said in a 2015 interview with WBUR, “I think if I didn’t have my brother swimming with me, I don’t know if I would have loved it as much as I did and still do.” Both children were also encouraged by their mother, who swam competitively in college.

Ledecky later attended Stanford University. She graduated in 2021 with a major in psychology and a minor in political science

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2012 London Olympics

Ledecky made her first splash in international swimming after her freshman year at Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, Maryland, when she set an Olympic-trials record in the 800-meter freestyle to qualify for the 2012 London Games. Just 15 years old, she was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic swimming team. At the Games she set an American record en route to the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle. The following year Ledecky set her first world records in the 800-meter freestyle (8 minutes 13.86 seconds) and the 1,500-meter freestyle (15 minutes 36.53 seconds) at the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA; later called World Aquatics) world championships. In addition to the golds that she won in those two events, Ledecky earned a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle and as a member of the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay team. She also won the FINA Trophy as the highest-scoring overall female swimmer at the world championships.

In June 2014 Ledecky bettered her own records in the 800-meter freestyle (8 minutes 11 seconds) and the 1,500-meter freestyle (15 minutes 34.23 seconds), and at the U.S. national championships in early August she set a global standard in the 400-meter freestyle with a time of 3 minutes 58.86 seconds. She thus became the first female swimmer since American Janet Evans to hold simultaneous world records for the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter distances. At the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships, Ledecky became the first woman to capture four individual golds in that competition by winning the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle events, and she claimed another gold in the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay. She also broke her own world marks in the 1,500-meter freestyle (15 minutes 28.36 seconds) and the 400-meter freestyle (3 minutes 58.37 seconds).

2016 Rio Games

The 6-foot- (1.83-meter-) tall Ledecky continued her stellar performance at the 2015 world championships. She captured gold medals in five events (the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle and the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay) and earned a place in history as the only person to have won four individual freestyle swimming distances in a single world championship or Olympic competition. She also set a world record three times—in the 800-meter freestyle final (8 minutes 7.39 seconds) and twice in the 1,500-meter freestyle (15 minutes 27.71 seconds in the heats and then 15 minutes 25.48 seconds in the final).

Ledecky put on a dominant showing at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, where she captured four gold medals (the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle and the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay) and one silver (4 × 100-meter freestyle relay). Moreover, she set world records in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle races (3 minutes 56.46 seconds and 8 minutes 4.79 seconds, respectively), and the 800-meter freestyle final saw Ledecky take almost two seconds off the record time as she finished more than 11 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.

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At the 2017 world championships, Ledecky won five gold medals (the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle as well as the 4 × 100- and 4 × 200-meter freestyle relays). However, she suffered an unexpected loss in the 200-meter freestyle, having to settle for silver. At a meet in 2018, Ledecky bettered her previous world record in the 1,500-meter freestyle, finishing in 15 minutes 20.48 seconds. Later that year she competed at the Pan Pacific Championships, winning gold medals in the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle races. She also captured one silver (4 × 200-meter freestyle relay) and one bronze (200-meter freestyle). Illness limited her participation at the 2019 world championships, though she managed to win gold in the 800-meter freestyle and silver in both the 400-meter freestyle and the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay.

2020 Tokyo Games

Ledecky entered the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic) as one of the favorites, and she won the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle; it was the first time that women had competed in the latter event at the Olympics. However, in the 400-meter freestyle she suffered her first loss in an individual race at the Games, finishing in second place. In addition, she won a silver in the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay.

At the 2022 world championships, Ledecky won four events: the 400-, 800-, and 1,500-meter freestyle as well as the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay. With those medals she became the most decorated female swimmer in the history of the world championships, the winner of 22 medals. She added to that total in 2023, when she won gold medals in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle relay and placed second in the 400-meter freestyle and the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay. With her victories, Ledecky surpassed Michael Phelps to set a new record for the most individual gold medals at the swimming world championships (16).

2024 Paris Games and other activities

Ledecky opted to skip the 2024 world championships in order to prepare for the Paris Games later that year. At those Olympics, Ledecky won a bronze medal in her first event, the 400-meter freestyle. She then competed in her signature event, the 1,500-meter freestyle, which she easily won. With that victory, she tied Jenny Thompson’s record for most Olympic gold medals won by an American woman. Ledecky later captured a silver in the 4 × 200-meter freestyle relay, becoming the first American female athlete to win 13 career Olympic medals. She continued to rewrite the history books when she won her fourth consecutive gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle. It was her ninth gold medal, which broke Thompson’s record.

Ledecky received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Pres. Joe Biden in 2024. That year she also published the memoir Just Add Water: My Swimming Life.