The women’s 400m freestyle final race was a thrilling affair. As America’s sweetheart, Katie Ledecky, locked horns with Australian arch-rival Ariarne Titmus, not many were prepared to see Titmus pulling a quick one over Ledecky with such dominance. However, despite the controversy that engulfed the Olympic Aquatics Center just before their clash, it seems like Katie had one special cheerleader on her side.

In a post on X by Karen Bass, the Mayor of Los Angeles, Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States, can be seen applauding as hard as her hands would allow her as Katie’s name is announced via the PA system. “Welcoming @katieledecky to the @Paris2024 Olympic Games with @FLOTUS!” reads the caption of Bass’ post, as the accompanying videos showed the mayor capturing Biden’s enthusiasm from a couple of rows behind.

Ledecky swam significantly slower today than she did at the US Olympic Team Trials. Moreover, her 4:00.86 was almost three seconds slower than Titmus’ time, resulting in the American’s heartbreak. While Ariarne had to cede ground to her national teammate Mollie O’Callaghan in the women’s on the same day, the former managed to pull off at least one feat to compensate for the same.

However, as many ponder whether the entire drama unfolding poolside between Titmus and Ledecky was a ploy by the Aussie to derail Katie’s focus, some fans would also believe that it was a necessary step by Ariarne to assert her dominance in the shorter race. With more medals in the longer distances still up for grabs, it waits to be seen if Ledecky can channel her remaining steam to make Paris the stage where she finally catches up to the legendary Michael Phelps.

In the next few days, the Stanford alum has the opportunity to become the first-ever female swimmer to defend the 1,500m Olympic gold as well as winning gold in the same event in four consecutive Games, a rare achievement, indeed. However, while she certainly isn’t running short of supportive voices in her corner, the First Lady might have a few more things to take care of in the City of Love other than just staying around watching Katie in her natural habitat.

Katie Ledecky isn’t hogging all the attention from FLOTUS

Biden and Bass reached the French capital with eyes set on starting the countdown to the 2028 LA Olympics. According to Daily News, Jill is part of the U.S. Presidential Delegation to the 2024 Paris Games to study the logistical requirements that the country will need to make sure everything goes down without hitting a bump on the road. Along with cheering for the country’s athletes on the big stage, Mrs. Biden will also meet with regional stakeholders to develop a better understanding of how to host a prestigious event like the Olympics.

According to the White House Pool, at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Paris, Biden thanked her colleagues for their efforts to make the Olympic flame “shine brightly in our nation once again”. Now, it remains to be seen if Biden’s commitment to giving America yet another chance to prove its worth to the world provides Katie with any additional motivation in the coming days to push herself over the last stretch of the race.