Paris 2024 Olympics: The key stats and figures behind Team USA’s legendary swimmer Katie Ledecky
In the water, there are few creatures more fearsome than a great white shark. With a diet more varied than what’s offered to athletes in the Olympic Village, and the ability to swim at speeds nearing 50 kph (35 mph), they are predators to be feared, respected and envied.
Thankfully, swimmers won’t have to contend with the oceanic apex predators in Paris. However, they will come face-to-face with swimming’s human equivalent to a great white shark: Katie Ledecky.
With an insatiable appetite for medals, and an uncanny ability to smash records, Ledecky casts a fearsome figure in the pool. The 27-year-old from Bethesda, Maryland has made a name for herself in the distance events, often pushing rivals out of frame on television broadcasts during her hunt for gold medals.
Ledecky’s career is best defined by a decade of dominance over the women’s 800m and 1500m freestyle events. From her first gold medal at the Olympic Games London 2012, to her most recent world titles at 2023 World Aquatics Championships, Ledecky has proven she is a swimmer to be feared, respected and even envied in the water.
Olympics.com explores the numbers and statistics behind Katie Ledecky’s legendary swimming career ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
21 - number of world championship victories
The one statistic that immediately stands out is the number of times Katie Ledecky has stood on top of the podium at the World Aquatics Championships.
Winning her first gold medal at age 16 in 2013, she has spent the following decade racking up an impressive total of 21 gold medals at the world championships.
Her wins have come mostly in the women’s 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyle events, but she’s also claimed victory in women’s 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle relays as part of Team USA.
A full breakdown of her world championships victories is listed below:
2013 - 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay
2015 - 200m freestyle, 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay
2017 - 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay
2019 - 800m freestyle
2022 - 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, 4x200m freestyle relay
2023 - 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle
14 - number of years since Ledecky last lost a 1500m freestyle race
Katie Ledecky’s dominance extends well beyond her world championships medal tally. Her competitive sprint has driven her to an unrivaled reign over the women’s 1500m freestyle, creating one of the longest active winning streaks in swimming.
In fact, her last loss in a 1500m freestyle race came when was just 13-years-old at the 2010 Potomac Valley Swimming Senior Championships, according to an investigation by SwimSwam.
While she has needed to pull out of races due to illness, she has yet to lose a 1500m freestyle final in the pool since then.
She holds the world record in the event at 15:20.48, and owns the unique distinction of being the only 1500m freestyle Olympic champion, as the event was contested by women for the first time at Tokyo 2020.
10 - number of Olympic medals
It shouldn’t come as a shock that Katie Ledecky has fared incredibly well at the Olympic Games.
The 27-year-old has racked up an impressive total of 10 medals, including seven gold, since bursting onto the scene at the Olympic Games London 2012.
Her most successful outing to date came at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, when she won three individual gold medals, one relay gold medal and one relay silver medal.
She is one of only four swimmers to win an event three times in a row, winning the women’s 800m freestyle at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
A full breakdown of her Olympic medals is listed below:
London 2012 - 800m freestyle (gold)
Rio 2016 - 200m freestyle (gold), 400m freestyle (gold), 800m freestyle (gold), 4x200m freestyle relay (gold), 4x100m freestyle relay (silver)
Tokyo 2020 - 800m freestyle (gold), 1500m freestyle (gold), 400m freestyle (silver), 4x200m freestyle relay (silver)
6 - Ledecky’s age when she began swimming
Katie Ledecky’s longevity is not to be overlooked. The intense physical training, pressure-filled competition days and never ending media commitments would be enough to make most athletes yearn for retirement, or at least an extended vacation. Yet, Ledecky keeps swimming.
She began swimming over two decades ago, when she joined the Palisades Porpoises as a six-year-old. She couldn’t have known where the sport would take her then, but she’s certainly not unhappy with how her career has unfolded.
In an interview earlier this year, she told The Athletic, “I’ve learned to just really enjoy each day of training and take in every moment and just appreciate the fact that I’ve been able to have this long of a career, stay injury-free, stay pretty healthy, be able to do this for this many years.”
3 - number of individual events Katie Ledecky will swim at Paris 2024
Katie Ledecky certainly won’t be tapering her athletic commitments at Paris 2024.
Team USA’s standout swimmer has entered three events - 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle and 1500m freestyle - in pursuit of an eighth Olympic gold medal.
She’ll face a stiff challenge from Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh in the women’s 400m freestyle, while attempting to maintain her streak of Olympic victories in the women’s 800m freestyle.
Click here for a detailed schedule of swimming events at Paris 2024.
1 - Presidential Medal of Freedom
Katie Ledecky’s accolades extend far beyond her results in individual races. She’s twice been recognized as World Aquatics Female Swimmer of the Year (2013, 2022), and has even received a Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Ledecky was awarded the United States of America’s most prestigious civilian honor by President Joe Biden on 3 May, joining an exclusive list of athletes to have received the honor, including Olympians Simone Biles, Jesse Owens and Jim Thorpe.
She was the second-youngest athlete to receive the award after Simone Biles, with both set to compete at Paris 2024. Who knows what kind of honors she’ll receive if she leaves Paris 2024 with multiple gold medals?