Katie Ledecky is no stranger to winning medals.
She has won 10 medals at the Olympics, including 7 gold medals, and 26 medals at the World Championships, including 21 gold. Them is gold.
All this hardware helped her earn the undisputed title as the greatest female swimmer of all time.
But on Friday, she will receive a different kind of medal. It is the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest award a civilian can receive from the U.S. government.
Ledecky spoke. Taking everything into account Host Juana Summers talks about what the medal means to her, what she thinks about the Paris Olympics in July-August, and why she has no plans to retire after this summer.
Juana Summers will be in Paris to cover the Olympics for NPR. You can follow all of her reporting at All Things Thoughted.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Juana Summers: Okay, Katie, so will this medal go in the same trophy case as your Olympic medal? What are you going to do with it?
Katie Ledecky: Oh, I haven't thought of that yet! This is definitely something very meaningful and very unique. And I never dreamed that I would receive such recognition. So I'm very, very honored.
Summers: This year could be another incredibly big year for you, so take a look ahead if you can. The Summer Olympics begin in Paris in a few months. How are you feeling in the pool these days? Feeling ready?
Ledecky: I'm ready. The Olympic trials begin in about a month. So that's what I'm preparing for, I have one more meeting before that. Everything is going well and training is going well. And I'm really excited about the opportunity to represent the United States in hopefully my fourth Olympics. I can't believe I'm getting this opportunity and I think it's going to be a great summer and I'm really excited.
Summers: If your trials go well and you are actually selected to represent the United States at your fourth Olympics, do you know which sport you would be most looking forward to?
Ledecky: Well, I hope to be able to participate in multiple events. And each one is special in a different way. The 800m free has always been my favorite and is the event I swam at my first Olympics in 2012, winning gold at the age of 15. So it holds a special place in my heart. But I love all my events. And I look forward to the challenges I will face in each race.
Summers: If they go to Paris, do you think they'll be their last? Do you think they'll be back for the games in Los Angeles in 2028?
Ledecky: Things are progressing year by year, but at the moment it looks certain that we will be competing as a home Olympic team in 2028. That's very unique. That's not something every Olympian gets. So I'm not retiring after this summer, and 2028 is definitely very attractive. So, at the moment, he wants to be there, at least he wants to compete in one event, maybe more. But again, plans are subject to change. It's a long way off, but for now my focus is only on this summer in Paris.
Summers: Whether you are a swimmer or a competitor in another sport, you are a huge inspiration to so many young female athletes thanks to your sheer strength, the number of medals you have accumulated, and your longevity in competition. I have to say that it has given me a lot. , and is currently the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest awards a civilian in the United States can earn. How do you feel about your career, what you represent and what you're showing the new generation of athletes, especially female athletes?
Ledecky: Ah, thank you for your kind words. I tried to give as much as possible. And I hope that young girls can look up to me and see the effort I put in and the results I put in and what I tried to accomplish both in and out of the pool. I hope they see it and take inspiration from it, whether they're swimmers or not.
I think I have learned a lot through sports. And through this 10+ year journey I have had at the international level, I have learned a lot about goal setting, dedication and resilience.
Summers: Do you have any lessons or stories about resilience that you would like to share with those who look to you as a role model?
Ledecky: Certainly, one of the stories that many Olympians will tell is about our experience in 2020 and 2021 and the Olympics being postponed by a year. In swimming, the Olympics are the pinnacle of our sport and we make his four-year plan to reach the pinnacle and be the best at the Olympics. So I think it took a lot of resilience on all of us to have that go on for a year and live under conditions of uncertainty where we didn't know if the Olympics were actually going to take place, and everyone. I had to adapt and train in my backyard, go to the pool, lift weights, and do all the other things in my house or apartment.
So during that time I learned a lot about myself and that people can adapt and adapt to change. And certainly, at that time we were not experiencing the worst. I felt very fortunate and lucky to have a goal and something to work towards leading up to the Olympics. I think more people were suffering than us at that time. These experiences have made me tougher and taught me to adapt when things don't go the way I expected.
Summers: Katie, whether it's Paris being your last Olympics, Los Angeles, or even beyond, you'll eventually quit competitive swimming. What do you think when you think about that future? Is that not even considered at the moment?
Ledecky: I haven't thought about it much. But for me, when I think about swimming and my career so far, I think about all the joy I've had in this sport and all the things I've learned through it. , all the people I've met through sports, and all the places I've met through competitive swimming. And because of all the joy I've had in this sport, I don't think I'll ever quit.
Of course, one day my competitive career will come to an end. And I'm not going to look at the clock or have my coach time me every set. But I think I always end up going back to the pool and swimming a few laps and playing in the water. And that's a very happy place for me.
As summer begins, I hope many others will experience the fun and learn how to swim as well. It's a very important life skill. And in my opinion, it's the greatest sport on the planet and something you can do for the rest of your life. I hope to be able to swim until I'm 90 years old. I have a 98 year old grandma so I hope she is lucky enough to have good genes and stays healthy and happy. Happy in the pool, happy in the water. It's definitely my happy place.
