Katie Ledecky will always be an icon, a legend, and the moment. She has always been the crème de la crème of the swimming world. But the 27-year-old cemented herself as the greatest athlete of our generation at the recently concluded Paris Olympics. Her successful stint at the French capital ended with 4 Olympic medals: 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. With 14 Olympic medals, she now holds the title of the most decorated U.S. female Olympian. 

With some much-needed time to kick her feet back up, the swimmer is now focusing on her memoir, Just Add Water: My Swimming Life. On September 3, the Olympian chats about her life and the book with co-hosts Gayle King, Tony Dokoupil, and Nate Burleson on CBS Morning. While talking about her Summer Games debut, they couldn’t help but bring swimming legend Michael Phelps up. The then-15-year-old was a part of Team USA’s swim team at the 2012 London Olympics. 

King told Ledecky how she was captivated by the swimmer’s story, from meeting Phelps as a young fan to eventually becoming his teammate. With a huge smile, the 25-year-old chimed in, “Yeah, I got a high five from him in the ready room when I was 15 at the Olympics in London.” But it was more than just a fleeting moment for the Olympian. She continued, “At that moment, I just flashed back immediately to looking up at him and getting his autograph.” It’s almost like that star-struck 9-year-old was in the studio. 

Michael Phelps was a 6x Olympic medalist when they met for the second time. Who would’ve guessed that one day she would get to brush shoulders with him? “He had his headphones in, but he stopped, and that made such an impact on me,” she confessed about their 2012 interaction. But it isn’t surprising for the two to cross paths. The Olympian added, “We’re both from Maryland, so there’s something in the water in Maryland.” We couldn’t agree more!

However, her first encounter with the swimming royalty was in the summer of 2003. Katie Ledecky and her elder brother waited outside the Eppley Recreation Center Natatorium for a mere glimpse of him. It wasn’t until a few hours later that Phelps made his way out of the back door. When he noticed a few of his fans waiting for him, he promptly walked over to greet them. When it was the Olympian’s turn, she handed over her swim cap for him to smile. While she doesn’t recall saying anything, she still remembers how wide her smile was.

Katie Ledecky had Michael Phelps in her corner during her tumultuous Paris Olympic stint

The swimmer’s first event in the Olympic pool was the 400m-freestyle event. Even though she’d clinched a gold at the 2016 Summer Games, she eventually lost that title to Australia’s Ariarne Titmus. But this time, she looked forward to seizing it back. However, she couldn’t match up to the Aussie, who went on to win yet again in 3:57:49 seconds. The 25-year-old instead had to settle for a third-place finish with 4:00:86 seconds on the clock. 

Katie Ledecky was the favorite to win, but when she couldn’t pull through, fans turned against her. But in the hour of need, it was 23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps who had her back. All he had to say was, “You have to give credit where credit’s due.” However, he also reassured the masses that she still has time to add more medals to her name, especially in her bread and butter events—the 800m and 1500m freestyle. 

The swimming legend hit the nail right on the head! The 25-year-old went on to claim gold in both events. In the 1500m event, she swam to victory in an Olympic record time of 15:30:02 seconds. She came face-to-face with Titmus in the 800m event. However, the Aussie couldn’t defeat her this time. The defending champion snagged another win with her stellar time of 8:11:04 seconds. But all of this aside, it’s endearing to see Katie Ledecky still have her little fangirl moments!