U.S. Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky said she was “inspired” to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in May. Ledecky is hopeful that inspiration will continue into competition next month as she returns to the pool for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In a wide-ranging interview Monday morning with Stephanie Gosk on the “TODAY” show, Ledecky — whose autobiography, “Just Add Water: My Swimming Life,” comes out tomorrow — acknowledged that although she could make history as the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, she’s not focused on records.
“I never thought that I would even make one Olympics when I first started swimming, let alone have the opportunity to go into a fourth,” said Ledecky, who won her first medal at age 15. “So that part is mind-blowing to me. But at the same time, I don’t really focus on the history stuff or medal counts. I’m very focused on each individual swim, and moreso times than places.”
Ledecky burst onto the scene as a teenager at the 2012 London Olympics, winning gold in the 800-meter freestyle. Since then, she’s won six gold medals at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics and 21 golds at the world championships.
Now a veteran on the U.S. team, Ledecky said experience will be key to her success in Paris.
“I really know what to expect when I walk into a big national or international meet,” Ledecky said. “There’s just a level of comfortability that I have now that I think translates over to when I race.”
Ledecky revealed on the “TODAY” show that she’s currently training with the U.S. men’s swimming team to gain an extra edge.
“One of the big reasons why I came to Florida was to train with some of the best male distance swimmers in the world,” she said. “I’m someone that has known for a while that I train really well and race really well when I do have that opportunity to race the guys. And not just any guy but the best. It’s been a really great environment for me. I try to make them better just as they’re making me better.”
Ledecky’s training comes amid conversations around equality in men’s and women’s sports. Ledecky pointed out how important it is that men and women alternate races at the same event.
“We get the same media coverage, we get the same prize money at big competitions,” she said. “We kind of all get those same benefits. But I realized that’s not the case for every sport, and the media landscape is changing. It’s good to see women’s sports continuing to elevate.”
As Ledecky gears up for Paris, she’s hoping to inspire young girls who see her as a role model.
“Set your bar high and don’t be afraid to set goals that seem unrealistic at first or seem impossible,” Ledecky said. “Don’t be afraid to set those, and you just keep working away. And you’ll see the results and you’ll see yourself getting closer to those goals.”
