Katie Ledecky is already thinking about returning to the big Olympic stage in four years.
The 27-year-old Ledecky shone in Paris, where she is on track to bring home two gold, one silver and one bronze medals, and on Saturday won her final gold medal in her special event, the 800 meters, to cement her place as the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time with 14 medals, including nine golds.
Despite being fully committed to the rigorous Olympic schedule, she’s not looking forward to taking time off.
“I was a little worried about this time off,” Ledecky told reporters Saturday about her planned few weeks back home in Bethesda, Md. “I have no idea how long it will be. I expect to be back in the pool soon.”
“Soon” is probably sooner than the average person thinks when competing with the best talent in the world.
But too much time off wouldn’t bode well for her fitness levels or mental clarity regarding her preparation level to reach the level of greatness Ledecky has achieved since winning her first gold medal as a 15-year-old at the 2012 London Olympics.
“I probably enjoy training more than I enjoy racing,” Ledecky said. “…I’ll be honest with you, if I could get back to training on September 1 and keep training through the fall, I’d be very happy.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Ledecky felt challenged by a younger generation of swimmers in Paris, but she will no doubt meet them in Los Angeles in 2028.
In the first final, the 400m freestyle, 23-year-old Ariarne Titmus of Australia and 17-year-old Summer McIntosh of Canada beat Ledecky to take the top two spots on the podium.
Titmus and the rest of her Australian teammates also took gold from the United States and Ledecky in the women’s 4 x 200m freestyle relay.
But Ledecky still won gold medals in her two strongest events, even though she holds the world records in both events.
She won the 1,500m freestyle by beating silver medalist Anastasia Kirpichnikova of France by 10.33 seconds.
In the 800m freestyle, she faced off against Titmus again and the two were neck and neck for much of the race, but Ledecky made her move in the final 200m and beat her by 1.25 seconds.
Still, she will likely prepare just as well, or even better, than she did for Paris to maintain her edge over her younger rivals.
“I’ve always been in the pool,” Ledecky wrote in her Washington Post autobiography. “Ever since I was a toddler, I’ve spent hours perched on the side ladder blowing bubbles and kicking my feet almost every day. The pool has always been my refuge — my playground, my hobby, my passion, my workspace and my energy source.”
