Katie Ledecky, who was the youngest athlete at age 15 on the 2012 US Olympic Swimming team, has set her eyes set on the events in Paris. She won multiple individual medals at the 2016 Rio Games and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This time around, competition will be swift as Canada's Summer McIntosh is also vying for multiple titles. Ledecky, 26, competed with the teenage swimmer at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
She is expected to win four-consecutive gold medals this summer in Paris in the 800m freestyle, 1,500m freestyle, 400m freestyle, and 4x200m freestyle relay. The world champion had clinched gold for the same at the last Olympics.
Ledecky, who outdid Michael Phelps for the most career individual world swimming titles, in an interview said the thrill of winning remains as powerful as ever. After claiming the 2023 World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, she shared that it was fun to represent the USA.
Ledecky told CNN:
"It was so much fun to represent Team USA at the international level again. I've been doing it for a while now and it just doesn't get old, it doesn't get old winning a gold medal for Team USA."
Katie Ledecky has disclosed that she has been training really hard. She said that being in an environment with other world champions and Olympic medalists helps those training to push each other ahead of Paris 2024.
Katie Ledecky wins and losses as she gears for Paris
Ledecky claimed victory in the 1500 freestyle at the Knoxville Pro Swim, clocking 15:38:8 in January, and lost to Summer McIntosh, 17, in the 800 freestyle at a Sectionals meet in Orlando.
This loss broke Ledecky's winning streak in 13 years. But she holds two world records and has 18 of the 20 fastest 1500m freestyle times to her name. Ledecky has already made her mark and set a legacy of herself.
Kyle Sockwell, president & CEO of Swimming Twitter, posted on X (formerly Twitter):
"Katie Ledecky hadn't lost the 800 freestyle in 13 years."
Ledecky and McIntosh have already set high expectations for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.