Katie Ledecky

Life and work

The story behind the role.

Olympic and world champion who transformed standards in women's distance freestyle.

Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky ( lə-DEK-ee; born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She is the most decorated female swimmer in history and the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, with a total of 14 Olympic medals, including nine golds. She has been called the greatest swimmer of all time. Ledecky has won a record 18 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle long course and 1500-meter freestyle short course, as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course) and 800-meter freestyle (short course). In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won the gold medal in the women's 800-metre freestyle. Four years later, she left Rio de Janeiro as the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Olympic Games, with four gold medals, one silver medal, and two world records. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ledecky emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete and became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads. In 2025, she won gold in the 800 meter World Championship, becoming the first swimmer—male or female—to win seven World Championship gold medals in the same event. In total, she has won 58 medals (41 golds, 14 silvers, and 3 bronzes) in major international competitions, spanning the Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships. During her career, she has broken 17 world records. Ledecky's success has earned her Swimming World's Female World Swimmer of the Year a record five times. Ledecky was also named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2022, international female Champion…

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