Team USA’s swimming star Katie Ledecky, who won her first gold medal at age 15 at the 2012 Olympics, added two more gold medals to her collection at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 10-time medalist will compete in four events: the 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1500-meter freestyle events, and participate in the 4×200-meter relay team. In Tokyo, she won silver in the 400 and 4×200 relay, and gold in the 800 and 1,500-meter freestyle swims.
As she continues her dominance in the sport in her fourth Olympics, fans can’t help but wonder about the swimming prodigy’s personal life.
The 27-year-old swimmer is not married, nor does it appear that she’s dating anyone. Her social media profiles focus on her sport and sponsorships, with no indication of a special someone. While it sounds like an overused trope, Ledecky is so laser-focused on training, she truly doesn’t have time for romance. Amid the coronavirus lockdown, Ledecky only left her apartment in Palo Alto “to swim and lift weights,” per Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde.
Did you know @katieledecky’s broken the world record in the 1500m free SIX times?
Well now she’s heading to its Olympic debut!
Ledecky didn’t even see her family in person between March 2020 and April 2021, Forde wrote :
It can be lonely at the top, a truism few athletes know better than Ledecky. She essentially created her own summit and spent many years occupying it without company in women’s distance swimming, far ahead of the rest of the world, chasing only her own records. The pandemic added a different layer of loneliness, but she was committed to staying safe while continuing her training for a third Olympic Games.
Ledecky’s routine didn’t ease up after Tokyo. In the March 2024 issue of Women’s Health, Ledecky revealed she swims 10 times a week and hits the gym five times per week. As for her minimal free time, “I love to cook,” she said. “I try to cook healthy meals that support my training.”
Ledecky Is ‘Super Friggin’ Competitive,’ Prioritizes Training Over Everything Else
Instead of dating, Ledecky used her year of downtime to finish her psychology degree at Stanford, along with a minor in political science. She FaceTimed her parents, Mary Gen and David Ledecky, along with her older brother, Michael, she told Sports Illustrated.
Needless to say, Ledecky was not spending hours swiping right or left on dating apps or meeting new romantic partners. Ledecky, who does 10 workouts a week, admitted that her competitive spirit trumps any desire to live a “normal” life.
“It’s just constantly chasing another goal,” Ledecky said. “It’s definitely harder to go best times now and I don’t expect that of myself every time I race — but I kind of do, in a way. I kind of approach every race like it’s an important race, and I expect a lot of myself every time.”
Ledecky’s swim coach Greg Meehan is continuously impressed by her dedication to swimming. “You can check all the technique boxes and not be anywhere near as good as she is,” Meehan said. “The appetite for work, attacking with that appetite — it’s not just, ‘Give me work.’ It’s, ‘Give me work and I’m going to go be the best in the pool every day.’ She’s fairly quiet, fairly reserved, and super friggin’ competitive.”
Her competitive spirit continues to fuel her work ethic. “I don’t see going to the gym as work—I see it as playtime. It’s fun for me,” she told Women’s Health. “I’m pretty good at staying focused on my own goals and not paying attention to any expectations that might be on me.”
“I feel like I love the sport more and more every year and I think, more than anything, that’s what contributes to longevity in the sport.”
Katie Ledecky Plans to Compete at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles
Unfortunately for anyone looking to date Ledecky, she is going to be quite busy for the next several years. While Ledecky is already the most decorated female Olympic swimmer in history, she has no plans to retire after Paris.
“The [2028] Olympics being in LA is very appealing,” she told NBC Sports in May. “Not very many athletes get an opportunity to compete in a home Games. I definitely at this point am planning on going through 2028… whether I compete in one event, multiple events, a relay, whatever.”
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Is Katie Ledecky Married or Dating Anyone?