“She is the greatest female swimmer of all-time,” said Rowdy Gaines, the NBC Broadcaster who has covered Olympian Katie Ledecky‘s career from the beginning. “When you look at all she has done, it’s unbelievable. No one has shown that kind of dominance.” 7x Olympics gold medalist Ledecky is more than deserving of the praise as she cements her image as the best long-distance swimmer. Only in the last Olympics, she won gold in the 800m freestyle and the 1500m freestyle. 

Apart from that, she also bagged silver in the 400m freestyle and 4x200m relay event in Tokyo. As she prepares for Paris, the stakes are high, but Ledecky’s dedicated training regimen stands as a testament to her unmatched capabilities. Her rigorous preparation reflects the commitment and dominance that defines Katie Ledecky’s journey to Olympic greatness.

Reflecting on her time at Stanford, where she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, Ledecky detailed her rigorous schedule in a recent interview with Wilx on July 4, 2024. She candidly described her daily routine, stating, “Well, I train a lot, so most mornings, I am up at 5 o’clock,” adding, “And I have practice from 6 to 8. Then, I will have weights from 8:30 to about 10. I’ll grab breakfast; I will take a nap, have lunch, go to my 2nd practice at 2 or 3, and swim for another 2 hours. Make myself dinner, do whatever I have to do, and get to bed so I can do it the next day.” This intense schedule, proven effective in her journey to Tokyo, underscores Ledecky’s dedication to her craft.

During the 2021 Games, Ledecky swam the 1500m to win a gold in the event with a riem of 15:37.34 which set a new record. USA’s Erica Sullivan also bagged the silver medal. In the 800m freestyle event, she won with a time of 8:12.57 and she defeated Australian swimmer Ariarne Titmus who scored silver. Additionally in the 400m freestyle swim, she set a time of 3:57.36. In this event Titmus won gold with a time of 3:56.69. Though her 200m performance was not a podium finish as she came fifth holding a time of 1:55.21. She was after Titmus, Siobhan Haughey of Hong Kong and Penny Oleksiak of Canada. However, she was part of the relay team that won silver in the 4x200m relay. This year too she will do her best to bag as many medals as possible. 

Dominating the depths: Katie Ledecky’s path to Paris Olympics

This year the US swimming trials were held in Indiana at the NFL Lucas Oil stadium. It was one of the biggest venues for the trials ever and Ledecky was set to make the most of it. She won first place in the 200m freestyle event with a time of 1:55.22. She also came first in the 400m freestyle with a time of 3:58.35 and the 800m with a time of 8:14.12. Ledecky became the first woman to win the 800m category in 4 Olympics trials, when she overcame Paige Madden who finished with a time of 8:20.71.

Earlier, this year she gained the fastest time in the world in the 800m at 8:12.94, set in April. Additionally during the 1500m, she clocked in a time of 15:37.35 and qualified in all four events. Earlier Ledecky had a time of 8:14.62 in the 2021 trials, with Katie Grimes and ahead of Haley Anderson by .15 seconds for her Olympic spot in 8:20.36. She told USA Swimming after the trials this year, “I’m happy to have gotten the job done here in Indy tonight and this week. It was a thrill to race in front of this crowd all week, and of course tonight to reminisce a bit on 12 years ago when my international career got kickstarted by that 800 in Omaha in 2012.”