Katie Ledecky’s parents, David and Mary Gen, played a major role in the star swimmer’s success. Katie’s mom, Mary Gen, was a collegiate swimmer at the University of New Mexico.
May Gen passed on this passion for swimming to her kids. Katie grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington D.C.
It is a near tragedy that sparked the family’s love for swimming as Mary Gen’s sister nearly drowned during a family vacation. Katie’s grandfather insisted that all of the children, including Mary Gen, learned to swim. Mary Gen continued this tradition with Katie and her brother Michael.
“A Hagan family vacation in the northern reaches of Glacier National Park almost ended in tragedy when Mary Gen’s older sister, then 4, fell from a dock and nearly drowned,” ESPN’s Philip Hersh wrote in an August 4, 2016, story titled, “Chasing Katie Ledecky.” “The girls’ father, Bud, immediately insisted that all his kids — Mary Gen was fourth of seven — would learn to swim.
“Mary Gen took to the competitive side of the sport, winding up on the team at the University of New Mexico. She later signed up both her children, Michael and his three-years-younger sister, Katie, for the swim team at a pool near Bethesda, an upscale suburb of Washington.”
Katie Ledecky’s Brother Michael: ‘She Would Typically Beat My Times From the Year Prior Despite Being 3 Years Younger’
Eventually, Katie’s mother traded in her goggles to become a hospital administrator. Katie’s dad, David, is an attorney and both parents have witnessed her rise as one of the faces of the sport. While swimming became a family passion, Katie’s brother Michael admitted that he was no match for his sister’s skill in the pool.
“She would typically beat my times from the year prior despite being three years younger and eventually she got me around the time I was a freshman and sophomore in high school,” Michael explained to CNN in a July 27, 2024, feature story titled, “Katie Ledecky: The rise of an Olympic great.” “But even then, I was exceptionally proud of what Katie was doing.”
Heading Into Paris, Katie Ledecky Has Won 7 Gold & 3 Silver Medals at the Olympics
Heading into the 2024 Olympics, Katie has already won seven gold medals, a number she hopes to increase in the coming weeks. Long before the bright lights of Paris, Katie found her love for swimming at the local pool in Maryland.
“I joined a team that was part of the Montgomery County Swim League, which is a huge league in Maryland and all these summer league teams are — they’re the place where a lot of young kids start to swim and find their love of the sport,” Katie told People’s Anna Lazarus Caplan for a June 11 story, “Katie Ledecky Is Ready to Make Her 4th Olympics: ‘I Don’t Take These Opportunities for Granted’ (Exclusive).” “And that’s what I certainly found.”
“… Just kind of playing around in the pool with the older kids was always something that I loved. And then I loved going to practice. I loved the cold water in the summer. I loved just hanging out at the pool with my teammates all day, doing practice, playing Sharks and Minnows and other games and practicing again or getting swim lessons. So it was a lot of fun to just spend time at the pool.”
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Katie Ledecky’s Parents, David & Mary Gen, Part of Swimming Family