Why did Katie Ledecky not attend Paris Olympics opening ceremony? All about the swimming great's absence from the Seine River show

Katie Ledecky is not present at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics at the Seine River, as she will compete in the 400m freestyle event the following morning. The heats of the women's 400m freestyle are scheduled to commence at 11:12 am local time (5:12 am ET).

Ledecky is competing in her fourth edition of the Summer Olympics and is in Paris with the rest of the American contingent. The 27-year-old shared an image of herself donning Team USA's blazer on her Instagram story, while also captioning it:

"Not going to the opening but had to get dressed up."

Katie Ledecky's Instagram story

Journalist Christine Brennan said that Ledecky could not become Team USA's flag bearer ahead of Coco Gauff as she did not plan on going to the opening ceremony because of her 400m race the following day.

"Coco Gauff is terrific choice to be female US flag bearer. Worth noting that 4-time Olympian Katie Ledecky, the greatest woman swimmer in history, said she “never planned on going to opening ceremonies” because she competes the next morning. That took her out of the running," Brennan wrote on X.

Apart from the 400m event, Katie Ledecky will also compete in four other events. These include 200m freestyle. 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle and the 4x200m freestyle relay.

Paris 2024 is Ledecky's fourth edition of the Olympics, having made her debut at London 2012. There, she won gold at the 800m freestyle event. Rio 2016 was the American's most successful edition of of the Olympics, as she won four golds and a silver. These included the 200m, 800m and 4x200m freestyle relay.

Ledecky won her third successive gold in the 800m freestyle event at Tokyo 2020. Here, she also won silver in the 400m freestyle and 4x200m freestyle races.

Katie Ledecky's competitors in the 400m freestyle event at Paris Olympics 2024

Katie Ledecky practicing ahead of the Paris Olympics (Source: Getty)

Ledecky is among the top contenders for gold in the 400m freestyle competition at Paris Olympics 2024. However, the 27-year-old will not have it easy as there are a lot of quality swimmers who are capable of standing atop the podium.

Ariarne Titmus won gold in 400m freestyle at Tokyo 2020 and currently holds the world record in the discipline. The Aussie is someone who can give Ledecky a run for her money, as is Summer McIntosh, who beat the American at this year's U.S. Open Championships.

Simona Quadarella and Paige Madden are also formidable competitors in the 400m freestyle event in Paris.