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Katie Ledeckyhas dominated the pool on the worlds biggest stage for over a decade.
Courtesy of The Ledecky Family/Sarah Stier/karomlopburi/Getty Images/Amanda K Bailey
But as she writes in her new book,Just Add Water,that was never her plan.
Olympians were superheroes, she believed.
But it didnt take long to realize she had a hell of a lot more in her.
Heres what she had to say.
SELF: Youre a longtime journaler.
At first, I wrote the bare minimum, then I took a hiatus for a couple of years.
I started back up leading into the next Olympics, around 2015, and Ive beenjournalingevery year since.
But what has evolved is what Ive added to it.
This isnt something that I share with my coach anymore; its for me.
Im able to just put it all on paper.
I look back on my old journals and I learn from them.
I probably have, like, 15 notebooks now.
It was fun during this book-writing process to look back at them all.
The COVID journals were the most interesting and detailed.
Thechapter were excerpting hereis the London chapterthat huge first gold medal for you.
When you think back on it now, whats the biggest feeling or moment that sticks in your mind?
Everything became so vivid to me.
I just had such a great time in London.
I only had that one race, the prelim, and then the final.
That inspired me and made me feel prepared.
I was just a 15-year-old and had no reason to feel superconfident in that environment.
But everyone around memy coaches, my teammatesmade me feel like I belonged.
It was such a great feeling.
Obviously, as your career has developed, youve become much more visible.
What other superpowers have you developed as you continued your upward trajectory?
I can process it and prepare for it in a way I couldnt when I was 15.
What made you decide it was time to talk about that publicly now?
And how does it feel to start doing that?
Ive had it under control completely.
I really just had to add salt to my diet and wear compression gear.
The biggest thing is to trust the health professionals youre working with.
I did that and was able to figure out what helped me pretty quickly.
I understand that for some people, its a longer process.
For instance, my mom is always reminding me to stay on my salt andhydration.
From a very young age, I had great role models in my local area.
I enjoyed watching them and learning the history of our sport.
Ive formed special relationships with many of them.
Its meaningful for those athletes to hear thatand for them to feel this strong connection with current swimmers.
Theyre always cheering us on and that means a lot to us as well.
Can you talk some about the inequities female athletes still face?
I think the biggest thing I saw wasthe addition of the 1500-meter freein the Olympics in Tokyo.
We have that now for the future.
As a whole, womens sports, as you said, its not just a moment.
Its something that started many years ago, and were all trying to continue the momentum.
But even broadly speaking, what would make the Paris Games a success for you?
Well, first off, I have to qualify.
Our trials are in mid-June.
Of course, I would love to qualify in multiple events for Paris and bring home some medals.
Thats always the goal if youre on Team USA.
I have specific time-oriented goals in mind that Im not going to share.
And what comes after that?
You share a bit in the book about how long you intend to continue competing.
How are you thinking about that, and even what might come after that, right now?
I would love to compete in Los Angeles in 2028.
I know that that is several years away at this point, so Ill take it year by year.
I think more training is in my future and more competingjust a lot more swimming.
Well, you know, Im pretty happy with how things have turned out.
I was able to reset some goals after London pretty quickly.
I didnt want to be a one-hit wonder; I wanted to continue representing Team USA.
So theres nothing really to warn her about.
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