The Evolution of Katie Ledecky: As the Olympics Approach, the American Swimmer Has Come Full Circle

July 22, 2024

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The Evolution of Katie Ledecky: As the Olympics Approach, the American Swimmer Has Come Full Circle

Follow our Olympic Games coverage in the run-up to the Paris Olympics.

In April, Bruce Gemmell got a call from someone who had changed his life more than a decade ago. They texted regularly, so it wasn’t strange to hear from her. But what she asked of him made him laugh.

Katie Ledecky’s first question was typical Katie: Hey, I’m coming to Maryland for a few days in May. Can I train with you?

A simple yes from her old swimming coach.

Than: Oh, by the way, when I get home, I’m going to the White House to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I hope you’re free to come as my guest. I don’t want to intrude or anything.

“She actually said it like that,” Gemmell said, laughing. “I said, ‘Yeah, sure, I’d love to go.’”

As the day began, he thought the coolest moment would be meeting President Joe Biden; Gemmell is originally from Delaware, and his wife had once interned for then-Senator Biden. It would be a nice moment to come full circle.

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But Gemmell’s main conclusion was something else, something far more important for the man who had trained the most dominant swimmer in the history of the sport during her most dominant period, beginning after the London Olympics and continuing through the Rio Games. He began working with her when she was 15, very quiet and even more shy.

And he watched as 27-year-old Katie Ledecky walked around the room, taking pictures with people who asked and talking to people from all walks of life.

“She was the star of the show, as far as I’m concerned — maybe she shared it with Nancy Pelosi,” Gemmell said. “It was definitely a sign of growth from that slightly awkward, not-socially-competent 15-year-old who burst onto the scene in London to win an Olympic gold medal.

“When you see her go from 15 to 27, and you have complete control of a room of all these powerful, wealthy politicians and dignitaries, it’s heartwarming to see that in her. And in that same period of time, my daughter has gone from a little child, a toddler, to someone who now travels all over the world swimming with Katie Ledecky.”

Gemmell’s daughter, Erin, who was 7 when Ledecky began training with her father, is on the U.S. Olympic team with her. The little girl, who once dressed up as Katie Ledecky for Halloween, qualified to compete in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay with her. Erin, now 19, punched her ticket by finishing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle in Indianapolis — the top four finishers qualify automatically — and as she looked up at the video board to confirm that she’d just made her first Olympic team, Ledecky swam across two lanes with a big smile to give her a hug.

Now That is a moment when the circle is complete.

Katie Ledecky, right, hugs Erin Gemmell after the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Gemmell has long looked up to Ledecky, who was once coached by Gemmell’s father. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

“She’s been such an influence,” Erin said. “I don’t think I would really be here if it wasn’t for her. It’s really special to be able to be so close to someone who’s so inspiring, to see the work they put into it every day. It seems more attainable in a way, being so close. It makes them a lot more human.”

When Erin met Ledecky, she was “terrified” of her. Erin also describes herself as “an absolutely annoying kid,” so she can’t believe how kind and welcoming Ledecky was to her. And even though her older brother, Andrew, has Olympic experience as a swimmer and her dad has a solid track record as a coach, Erin can’t believe how lucky she is to experience Paris and the run-up with Ledecky.

Her dad can’t believe his luck either. Erin isn’t one to send photos or updates from training camp — Team USA trained in North Carolina and later in Croatia — but Ledecky sends selfies of the two of them. Ledecky isn’t just Erin’s role model; she’s essentially her older sister. She’s in charge of the parents’ updates, and Erin is in charge of painting nails.

“Katie is (in) the top of a small group of swimmers, probably the best woman ever,” Bruce Gemmell said. “But her quality as an individual is on another level. I say that with love … with tears in my eyes.”

Ledecky herself has always understood her power and influence. It’s part of the reason she’s been quiet and shy for so long; that’s who she is, but it’s also how she wanted to come across to the world. She’s a serious woman with big goals that she’s worked toward her entire career. And she’s not close to the finish line yet. She’s said she plans to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics at age 31, which would be her fifth Games.

But even now, with the Paris Games just days away, she knows she’s already a veteran on the national team. On the women’s side alone, there are two 17-year-olds (Alex Shackell, Claire Weinstein), an 18-year-old (Katie Grimes, who qualified in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle and the open water event), and Erin. The average age of the women’s team is 22.1.

Ledecky is also one of the most successful female Olympians, with seven gold medals. In Paris, she could break the record of gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won nine gold medals for the Soviet Union in the 1950s and 1,500-meter freestyle. Ledecky is favored in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle, so to break the record she would only need a surprise victory in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay (Australia is favored) or the 400-meter freestyle (Aussie Ariarne Titmus and Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh are top contenders).

Katie Ledecky shows off her gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She is the favorite in that and the 1,500 meters in Paris. (Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images)

At the height of Ledecky’s career in Rio de Janeiro, she won gold in events as short as the 200 freestyle. At 19, her recovery looked different, too. But Ledecky doesn’t see medals that aren’t silver or gold as failure. She finds value in the work itself — and in her own consistency.

“I pride myself on that consistency,” Ledecky said. “I challenge myself to be consistent. Yeah, I mean, sometimes it can be hard to feel like you’re not having a breakthrough. But to be really consistent, that’s what I’m really happy about. I’ve learned to just really enjoy every day of practice and take advantage of every moment and just appreciate that I’ve been able to have such a long career, stay injury-free, stay relatively healthy and do this for so many years.”

She has also embraced her role as the elder statesman of the sport. She is the one who runs out to find the Erins of the world and celebrate with them. She said her favorite message to her early Olympic teammates is the one she got from her first coach, Yuri Suguiyama, ahead of London in 2012. He told her that she deserved to be on that team, that she was deserving and that she belonged. That is Ledecky’s message to her younger teammates: You belong.

Ledecky remembers what it was like to be young and fall in love with swimming, not knowing where it would take you. She knows what that amazement feels like; she knows some of her teammates might even be intimidated by standing next to her on a grid. But she keeps perspective. She paints her nails red, white, and blue. She sends selfies, commemorating the small moments and the big ones. That’s how she got here, to the edge of more history.

“I never dreamed of it as a young kid, to make it to the Olympics,” Ledecky said. “So after London … I wanted to get back to that level to prove that I wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. But at the same time, I reminded myself that anything more than that was like the icing on the cake, the icing on the cake, whatever. Because again, I never thought I would make it to that one Olympics.

“That’s the perspective I think I’ve been able to keep, which keeps me focused and still enjoying the sport, but also the teammates and the people around me.”