Katie Ledecky may have asserted herself as the superhuman of the swimming world. But even she often encounters situations that aren’t too favorable. The 27-year-old had a pretty bumpy start to her fourth Olympic berth in the City of Light. However, towards the end, the swimmer proved why she’s the best at what she does. The Olympian walked away with 4 more medals: 2 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. But what makes a champion? Lucky for you, we have the answer! 

The swimmer is back in the States and busy talking about her New York Times-bestselling memoir, Just Add Water. In a recent sit-down conversation, Tony Dokoupil asked Ledecky how she didn’t slow down during the 1500m finals. Unable to hold back a wide grin, the Olympian responded, “Well, I just don’t get slower.” While that might seem smug, she let everyone in on the secret sauce. “I’ve put in a lot of work all these years. I learn from each year, and it’s not even necessarily about the results for me,” she added. 

However, Katie Ledecky first stepped onto the world’s biggest stage at the tender age of 15. In fact, she even won her first Olympic gold in the 800m freestyle. But it was here that the swimmer learned a valuable lesson. “I got really great advice in 2012 at my first Olympics from many of the veterans to enjoy the journey, you know? Don’t focus too much on the end result.” This was a game-changer for the swimmer.

“I really just kind of dove back into training after my first gold and started just loving the training more and more each year to this day.” Keeping that in mind, she has always focused on training hard. This led formula helped her bag 5 Olympic medals in Rio while she claimed 4 more at the Japanese capital. The 14x Olympic medalist confesses, “So, I think the results that I’ve seen in Paris, the years between London and now, I think it’s just a result of the work that I’ve put in.” In fact, when the women’s 1500m debuted at the 2020 Summer Games, Katie Ledecky scorched to the finish in 15:37:34, becoming the first athlete to win the event. 

During the prelims in Tokyo, the swimmer set the pool on fire. How? She set a new Olympic record with 15:35:35. However, at the París La Défense Arena, the Olympian successfully shattered the record by defending her title with a blistering 15:30:02. And with this, the 27-year-old is the first female swimmer who completed a 4-peat. In the post-race interview, she acknowledged how her family and coach have helped. “Everyone that has supported me all these years. Their saying kind of came in my head. I’m thinking about them.” But her first event in the French capital left a shadow of doubt in several people’s minds. 

Katie Ledecky did not have a great start in París La Défense Arena

Tony Dokoupil looks back on the Olympian’s first event at the French Capital. She started her with the women’s 400m freestyle. “I think you won a bronze or silver in a race prior to [1500m free], and people were like, ‘Oh, that was an upset. Has she lost something?'” Dokoupil went on to reiterate that this was her fourth Olympics. What really went down? The swimmer faced the defending Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus on July 27. One of her golds from Rio was in the 400m freestyle, but she eventually lost it to the Aussie in Tokyo. 

Even though she looked forward to reclaiming it, she couldn’t pass the Titmus test. The Aussie started strong and kept that pace throughout. In 3:57:49 seconds, she’d done it. Ariarne Titmus got to keep her Olympic Champion title. But Katie Ledecky’s 4:00:86 was only good enough for a third-place finish. Understandably so, fans were unimpressed. However, Michael Phelps felt otherwise. NBC Sports asked the Baltimore Bullet what his thoughts were on the race.

The swimming legend confessed, “You have to give credit where credit’s due.” But he reiterated how this shouldn’t define what the rest of her career would be like. “She’s setting records every single day. Moving forward, she’s coming into her bread and butter events,” he added. He even exclaimed that she has proved her mettle in the 1500m and 800m freestyle throughout her career. So what was Phelps’ takeaway?

“This race will be something she will put behind her and really start to generate that focus towards the upcoming events.” It seems the legend knew exactly what he was talking about. Katie Ledecky asserted why she’s the “Queen of Distance” throughout the race. At one point, broadcasters couldn’t fit her in the same frame as her competitors. That’s how incredible her lead was. For her, it wasn’t a race against her competitors. It was a race against the clock. But the Olympian didn’t just shatter the OR that night. She shattered the doubts in everyone’s minds too.