"I was getting blood tests and EKG and all these things"- Katie Ledecky opens up on landing in an emergency room at World Aquatics Championships

Katie Ledecky spoke about being rushed into the emergency room at the World Aquatics Championships 2019 in Gwangju. The American athlete recalled the emotional experience where she faced a lot of difficulties, which ultimately led her to withdraw from two events to seek immediate treatment.

Ledecky struggled to compete in the hot weather at Gwangju and wrote about her emotional experience of withdrawing from two events in her newly released book ' Just Add Water: My Swimming Experience'. The Olympic gold medalist swimmer revealed how she had to undergo many tests as well as she was suspected of being ill due to a mosquito-borne illness.

She made an appearance in the 'Unfiltered Water Podcast' with Olympic champions Katie Hoff and Missy Franklin. Ledecky spoke in detail about the incident the led her to withdraw from two events and end up in the emergency room.

"In 2015, I was diagnosed with mild pots. Fast forward to 2019, I had gotten it under control and had to change somethings in my diet and had to increase my hydration a lot and increase my salt intake. In Febrauary 2019, I got really sick at Worlds in Gwangju and was in the ER ( Emergency Room) for a few hours and I was getting blood tests and EKG and all these things. Basically there was one red flag that led us to do one heart scan. They found out that I had a fluid around my heart which was a sign of a virus, which you know your body protects your heart with fluid if you're sick," she said.

“So, yeah, like when I got sick, we were in hot Gwangju. I was getting, I was also getting bitten up by mosquitoes constantly. And so I had this big fear that I had some mosquito-borne illness. That was not the case to my knowledge, ” she added.

Furthermore, she spoke about taking necessary precautionary measures whenever she travels to hot places.

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Katie Ledecky's performance at the World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju

Katie Ledecky at the Olympics: Day 4 - Source: Getty

Katie Ledecky was set to perform in five events at the World Aquatics Championships 2019, held in Gwangju. However, due to her illness, she withdrew from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle.

She won the silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle final after having a lead in the final leg of the race before Australia's Ariarne Titmus put forward a dominating finish to win the title. Ledecky won the gold medal in the women's 800m freestyle marking her fourth consecutive World Championship gold medal in the event.

Katie Ledecky then competed in the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay, which consisted of Simone Manuel, Melanie Margalis, and Katie McLaughlin to set a new American record and win the silver medal. She concluded her campaign in Gwangju with two silver medals and one gold medal.