Katie Ledecky is an American professional swimmer who has won five Olympic gold medals. She has also won 14 World Championships and maintains the swimming world record in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle (long course), as well as the fastest-ever times in the 500-, 1000-, and 1650-yard freestyle events for women. Ledecky, a native of Washington, D.C., became engaged in swimming at the age of six. She exhibited prodigious abilities as early as high school and subsequently entered the Nation’s Capital Swim Club as a trainee. Ledecky made her international debut in 2012 at the London Olympics, where she won the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle, much to everyone’s astonishment. Four years later, she won four gold medals, two silver medals, and two world records in Rio de Janeiro. She has won 24 gold medals and two silver medals in numerous international competitions and set 14 new world records over the course of her career. Swimming World’s World Swimmer of the Year four times, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year three times, L’Équipe’s Champion of Champions twice, Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year once, and Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year once have all been awarded to her for her achievements in the pool. In May of 2018, Ledecky debuted as a professional swimmer.
Youth and Early Life
Katie Ledecky was born in Washington, D.C., on March 17, 1997, to Mary Gen (née Hagan) and David Ledecky. Michael, her older sibling, swam for the Harvard University swimming team. Jon Ledecky, the proprietor of the New York Islanders, is her uncle.
In 1947, her paternal grandfather, Jaromir Ledeck, immigrated to the United States from the Czech Republic. The matriarch of her father was Jewish. The mother of Ledecky is of Irish descent. Ledecky is a practicing Catholic.
Ledecky began taking swimming lessons at the age of six after being inspired by her sibling and her mother, who swam during her time at the University of New Mexico.
Before attending Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, she attended Little Flower School in Bethesda, Maryland. She set the American and US Open records for the 500-yard freestyle while in high school and eclipsed the high school record for the 200-yard freestyle.
During the summer of 2012, she began training at the Nation’s Capital Swim Club, where Yuri Sugiyama was her initial coach. After leaving the club, Yuri Sugiyama began training under coach Bruce Gemmell, who later guided her through the 2016 Summer Olympics. She enrolled at Stanford University on a swimming scholarship after graduating in 2015. She is a member of the Stanford Cardinal women’s swimming team coached by Greg Meehan.
Katie’s International Profession
Katie Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Trials for the United States in Omaha, Nebraska. She placed third in the 400-meter freestyle and ninth in the 200-meter freestyle during the same competition. She was the youngest American Olympic participant in 2012.
She qualified for the final of the 800-meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics after finishing third in the qualifying stages. She surprised everyone in the final round by registering an impressive 8:14.63 and winning the gold by four seconds. This victory earned her the first international medal of her career and several accolades, including the 2012 Golden Goggle Awards for Best Female Performance and Breakout Performer of the Year.
She qualified for the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle events as well as the 4200-meter freestyle relay at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, by winning the respective categories. She qualified for the 200-meter freestyle by finishing second but subsequently withdrew from the competition.
Ledecky went on to win gold medals in every event she competed in at the World Championships, breaking several American and world records along the way, including the world record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:36.53.
In June of 2014, during the Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational, Ledecky broke her own records in the 800 and 1500-meter freestyle events. She then competed in the United States National Championships. Her performance qualified her for the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in 2014 and the World Aquatics Championships in 2015.
After breaking the 400-meter freestyle world record, she became the first female athlete since Janet Evans to break the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle world records.
At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Australia’s Gold Coast, she won five gold medals and set two world records. The 200, 400, 800, and 1500-meter freestyles, as well as the 4200-meter freestyle relay, were awarded gold medals.
In the 400- and 1500-meter freestyle events, she set world records with times of 3:58.37 and 15:28.36, respectively. Her medals effectively made her the first female athlete in the history of the Pan Pacific Championships to earn four individual gold medals.
At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky maintained her outstanding performance. There, she also won five gold medals and established three records. Her gold medals came from the standard events, including the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles as well as the 4200-meter freestyle relay.
She set the record for the 800-meter freestyle in 8:07.39 and the 1500-meter freestyle in 15:27.71. In both instances, she surpassed her own benchmarks. In addition, she is the first swimmer in history to earn gold medals in these events at a major competition.
At the 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series in Austin, she improved her 800-meter freestyle record by registering a time of 8:06.68. Ledecky was victorious in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle events at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska. Not only did she qualify for her second Olympics, but she was also named the best female swimmer in the competition.
She won five medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics: four gold and one silver. Her gold medals came from the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle events, as well as the 4200-meter freestyle relay. She and her American teammates claimed silver in the 4100-meter freestyle relay.
She set a world record in the 400-meter freestyle final with a time of 3:56.46 and another in the 800-meter freestyle final with a time of 8:04.79. Ledecky is the most decorated female athlete who has competed in a single Olympic event.
During the 2016-17 NCAA season, she eclipsed 12 competition records as a freshman at Stanford University. At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, she played a crucial role in Stanford’s first team victory since 1998. She was named the Honda Cup champion at the conclusion of the season, becoming the first freshman in 35 years to claim the trophy.
She won five gold medals at the 2017 World Championships: 400-meter freestyle in 3:58.34 seconds, 800-meter freestyle in 8:12.68 seconds, 1500-meter freestyle in 15:31.82 seconds, 4100-meter freestyle in 3:31.72 seconds, and 4200-meter freestyle in 7:43.39 seconds. With a time of 1:55.18, she also claimed a silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle.
At the 2018 NCAA Championships, Ledecky won the 500-yard freestyle and the 1650-yard freestyle. In addition to her victories in the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard freestyle, she was named Swimmer of the Meet for the second consecutive year at the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way. After the conclusion of the 2017-18 NCAA season, Ledecky announced her intention to pursue professional endorsements and sponsorship opportunities.
Ledecky made her debut as a professional swimmer on May 16, 2018, at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, Indiana, where she set a new record in the 1500-meter freestyle with a time of 15:20.48. Since June, she has been under contract with Tyr Sport, Inc.
Katie’s Personal Life
Katie Ledecky devotes a significant amount of time and energy to a number of charitable organizations, including Catholic Charities, Shepherd’s Table, Bikes for the World, and Wounded Warriors. Alongside Simone Biles, she was designated a Ship’s Sponsor for USS Enterprise (CVN-80) in December 2016. They are the first Olympians to be honored with this distinction.
Estimated Net Worth
Katie Ledecky is an Olympic gold medalist and competitive swimmer with a net worth of $5 million. As of this writing, Katie Ledecky has won 10 Olympic medals (7 gold, 3 silver), 22 World Aquatics Championships medals (19 gold, 3 silver), and set 16 world records, primarily in the 800-meter and 1500-meter long course freestyle events.