dominant force for over a decade in swimming, Olympian Katie Ledecky is hoping to inspire young and upcoming swimmers.
At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Ledecky became the most decorated female American Olympian of all time.
“There are many days that are hard. There are many races that are challenging, but I love it. I love being with my teammates. I love setting goals for myself and pursuing them,” she said in an interview with “CBS Mornings.”
Katie Ledecky with a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics
Swimmer Katie Ledecky of Team USA poses with her gold medal after the Women’s 1500m Freestyle Final at the 2024 Olympic Games at Paris La Defense Arena on July 31, 2024 in Nanterre, France.
Christian Liewig – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
While she hasn’t set a new goal for herself just yet, Ledecky said she has been enjoying a break to “soak it all in” after practicing seven days a week for the Paris Games.
Her new memoir, “Just Add Water,” follows her journey from Bethesda, Maryland, to become one of the greatest athletes of her generation. In it, she talks about meeting another legendary athlete, Michael Phelps, when she was just 6 years old. Years later, they became teammates.
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“I got a high-five from him in the ready room when I was 15 at the Olympics in London and at that moment I just flashed back immediately to looking up at him, getting his autograph … that made such an impact on me,” she said.
Ledecky writes about often being compared to a male swimmer’s stroke, explaining she hopes to change the dialogue.
“When I was first coming on to the scene, I was swimming with a bit of a different stroke than a lot of the other female distance swimmers were swimming with and I think that’s really what made me so great, what shot me onto the scene was doing something a little different,” she said. “I hope that in the future and maybe even today people can say, ‘Oh she swims like Katie Ledecky,’ or, ‘She has Katie’s stroke.'”
With 14 medals and nine of them gold, Ledecky may not be done yet. The four-time Olympian hopes to compete in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I would love to swim in LA. I think an Olympics in the United States, it’s a unique opportunity,” she said. “Not every athlete gets to compete in an Olympics on home soil.”
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