Katie Ledecky has made history with her incredible 21 world championship gold medals, the most ever for a female swimmer. But in 2019, there was a shocking moment at the FINA Swimming World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Ledecky, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, was set to compete in the 200, 400, 800, and 1500 freestyle events. She kicked off with the 400-meter freestyle but was edged out by 18-year-old Ariarne Titmus from Australia, marking her first defeat in that event at a major competition since 2013.

Despite this setback, Ledecky bounced back the next day, becoming the fastest qualifier for the 1500m final with a time of 15:48.90, leading the field by 2.68 seconds. Unfortunately, she decided to withdraw from the final, shocking fans around the world. What she initially thought were “normal nerves” turned out to be the sickest moment of her swimming career. Initially, there was a heart attack scare. However, several tests confirmed fluid accumulation around Katie’s heart. In her memoir, she gave an account of the harrowing experience.

In the memoir, Just Add Water: My Swimming Life, the episode is described in Chapter 14, titled “KOREA”. Ledecky revealed how she became extremely ill just before the event at the Gwangju 2019 FINA World Championships. Her ordeal began when she was in Singapore for a training camp the week before the event. As they traveled to Korea, four days before the meet started, she noticed a loss of appetite and stomach issues, which she initially attributed to nerves, despite normally not being prone to them.

Upon arriving in Korea, she realized she had lost three or four pounds, a significant amount for an athlete in peak form. Additionally, she was getting bitten by insects because of the hot and humid conditions, which caused huge, swollen red circles all over her exposed skin. Despite her growing discomfort and illness, she tried to focus on competing. In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, she started strong but struggled as the race went on, finishing much worse than expected.

The next day, during the 1500-meter freestyle preliminaries, she felt so unwell that she even considered exiting the pool mid-race—a thought that had never crossed her mind before. Despite feeling awful, she managed to finish with the fastest time going into the final. Recalling the experience, she wrote, “As I explained to the press as I exited the pool, “I just kind of blanked out and tried to finish it.” Then I hightailed it over to the coaches and medical staff and announced, “I’m not myself.”

Katie was immediately taken to the head of sports medicine for USA Swimming, where she was given water and an electrolyte drink. “I was sweating rivulets at this point. I’d spiked a fever. My heart rate wouldn’t come down,” she shared in her book. The concern spiked further when her blood reports revealed high levels of troponin, which is an indicator of a heart attack episode. Alternately, it can also hint at other grave conditions such as sepsis, congestive heart failure, or renal failure, among others.

After some rest and a trip to the clinic for tests, Katie was told to keep resting and stay hydrated. But her condition didn’t improve, and she decided to skip the 200-meter freestyle the next morning. Things got worse, leading to a visit to the emergency room at Chonnam National University Hospital in Gwangju.

The hospital was packed, and she had to wait for hours before undergoing various tests. She revealed, “The ultrasound found that I had some fluid around my heart, which was basically consistent with having a virus. After a battery of tests, all parties felt certain I hadn’t had a cardiac episode. The virus was shutting my body down. But I wasn’t going to keel over.” 

Katie was advised against competing, but after discussing with a Korean cardiac specialist and the team doctor, they decided that if she could recover over the next two days, she might participate in her remaining events. So how did she come back from this episode?

Her comeback, despite her harrowing struggles just days ago

Three days after the shock, Katie Ledecky returned to compete in the finals of the 4x200m relay with teammates Simone Manuel, Melanie Margalis, and Katie McLaughlin. They set a new American record but finished second to Australia. Ledecky then qualified for the 800-meter final. Despite lagging in the first half, she surged ahead in the last 50 meters, passing Italy’s Simona Quadarella to win by 1.41 seconds. This marked her 15th World Championship title.

Though her time of 8:13.58 was far from her best, it was still an impressive victory in her storied career. Her resilience earned praise from teammates, including Caeleb Dressel, who noted, “Knowing Katie, if she says, ‘I’m feeling a little under the weather,’ it probably means something’s very, very wrong.”

Her coach, Greg Meehan, added, “I told her it was probably the best racing I’ve ever seen her do.” As we reflect on this story of fortitude and determination, we eagerly anticipate what Katie will show at the 2024 US Olympic Trials as she paves her path to the Paris Olympics. What do you think of Katie Ledecky’s incredible story of resilience? Share your thoughts in the comments below!