Swimming icon Katie Ledecky is adding to her medal count.
The seven-time gold medalist Olympian was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden on Friday. the white house announced.
Ledecky, 27, is looking to build on her impressive record of six individual gold medals, the most by a female swimmer, as she prepares for the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.
Deemed an “athletic genius” by the White House, Ledecky will enter the Olympics with 21 world championship gold medals and world records in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters freestyle.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom has been called “the nation’s highest civilian honor” and is “for American prosperity, values, security, world peace, or other important social, public, or personal endeavors.” Awarded to individuals who have made exemplary contributions. ”
“Having grown up in this area, I know what a great honor this is,” the Washington, D.C., native said. “I feel very connected to this area. I know this is a national award, but it feels almost local to me. I have to go home for a few days for this. No, this is my community.”
In addition to her, 18 other people have received this honor, including the late track and field star Jim Thorpe, who received the award posthumously.
Thorpe was the first Native American to win gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
The 2024 recipients also included former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and politicians Al Gore, Jim Clyburn, John Kerry and Nancy Pelosi.
Previous sports honorees include gymnast Simone Biles and USWNT star Megan Rapinoe, who will be honored by Biden in 2022, golfer Tiger Woods and NBA star and executive There’s Jerry West, and Babe Ruth, who was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by Donald Trump.
