12 Questions With Katie Ledecky

With 14 total medals — nine of them gold — Katie Ledecky is the most decorated female American athlete as well as the fifth most-decorated athlete in Olympic history. She started racking up the medals as a 15-year-old in London in 2012 when she took home gold in the 800-meter freestyle swim. In Rio de Janeiro four years later, she added four gold medals and one silver medal. But she was far from done. In Tokyo in the 2020 Games, she snagged gold in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events as well as silvers in the 400-meter and 4 x 200-meter freestyle. She capped it off last month in Paris with gold in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle, bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, and silver in the 4 x 200-meter freestyle.

On Wednesday, Ledecky took a break from the pool to be a spectator at the quarter-final matches at the U.S. Open in Queens, N.Y., courtesy of Ralph Lauren, one of her sponsors. Ledecky was joined in the luxury suite by Bobby Finke, who also defended his gold medal in the 1,500 freestyle in Paris, as well as other Olympians Daryl Homer (fencer), Chiaka Ogbogu (volleyball), Jeffrey Louis (breaker) and others.

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Here, Ledecky took a few minutes to answer questions about her experience in Paris, her sport and what she likes to do out of the pool.

WWD: Of all the Olympics you’ve competed in, which was your favorite and why?

Katie Ledecky: It’s hard to pick a favorite. I think the first one will always be pretty special. So London — but Paris was pretty hard to beat. I mean, it was just such an iconic location, beautiful venues, lots of great spectators, lots of good energy. So it was a really great experience in Paris this time around.

WWD: Of all the events you swim in competition, which one is your favorite?

K.L.: My favorite event is probably the 800 freestyle that I won my first gold in. It has been my favorite event ever since that day.

WWD: Most athletes excel in either short or long distances, but you manage to dominate in both. What’s your secret?

K.L.: Well, I just have always trained for all the freestyle events and, at some point, I realized I was more of a distance swimmer, but I still trained some speed, and I always want to compete on the relay for Team USA. The 200 IM [individual medley] free is important to me. So that’s why I’ve been able to compete in the 200 through the 1,500.

WWD: What’s your favorite Olympic moment other than your own?

K.L.: In Paris, watching this guy, Bobby Finke, break the world record in the 1,500 free was really a special moment. Watching a teammate break a world record and win a gold medal, just knowing how hard he’s worked for it was really special.

WWD: What song do you sing to yourself when you’re swimming and just training in the pool?

K.L.: It varies. I love Bruce Springsteen, anything classic rock, pop. It could be anything. I didn’t have a specific one stuck in my head in Paris.

WWD: What athlete do you fan worship?

K.L.: I don’t know if I fan worship anyone. But it’s fun to be here at the U.S. Open and watch the tennis. I always love watching tennis, and I think there’s a similar mindset that you have to have in tennis and swimming. I think they are pretty similar in many ways. So I’m enjoying watching all the athletes here today.

WWD: What’s your favorite non-swimsuit piece of clothing to wear?

K.L.: Anything Ralph Lauren. I love a good skirt or dress. I’d have to say, in Paris, my two favorite things were the closing ceremony jacket — the outfit was really cool — and then Ralph Lauren had a really nice white sweater with the American flag and Olympic rings that I know everyone was eyeing as a really, really neat sweater. It was very comfy.

WWD: Caeleb Dressel keeps his gold medals in socks. Where do you keep yours?

K.L.: Yep, mine are in socks right now too.

WWD: When you go home, will you display them?

K.L.: No, they’ll stay in their socks.

WWD: What do you like to do out of the pool?

K.L.: I like to spend time with my family and friends as much as I can, go out for a good meal and just relax. Nothing crazy.

WWD: How would you describe your personal style?

K.L.: I would say: pretty simple. I have a lot of red, white and blue in my wardrobe. I’m wearing a lot of blue today. I feel like this is very much a water-like, swimming kind of outfit, so I like it.

WWD: And then the question you’ve been asked a million times already: Will you come back for L.A. in 2028?

K.L.: I would love to. It’s four years away, so I’m gonna take it one step at a time and see where I’m at each year. But if I’m still enjoying it as much as I am right now, and if I feel like I still have a lot left in my body, then I’ll be giving it my very best effort to go to L.A. and perform well there.

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