Women’s History Month originated as a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to the U.S., organized by the Sonoma California School District. Their local celebration caught the attention of President Jimmy Carter, who declared the week of March 8 National Women’s History Week. Congress later officially expanded the celebration in 1987 to include the entire month of March.
Every week this month, The B&W will publish a column to celebrate some of Maryland’s most profound female leaders.
Katie Ledecky was born on March 17, 1997, in Washington D.C. to hospital administrator Mary Gen Ledecky, and attorney David Ledecky. Ledecky started her swimming career at the age of six, inspired by her older brother and mother who both swam collegially.
Ledecky credited a large portion of her success to her childhood support system, growing up in Bethesda, Maryland. Ledecky described a happy childhood, allowing her to form a bond with the Washington-area community. Ledecky attended Metropolitan Nursery School, Little Flower School and Stone Ridge. Ledecky swam for the Palisades Porpoises in the Montgomery County Swim League and often spent her free time at Palisades, Barnes & Noble, Ledo Pizza and Beyda’s clothing store.
National Capital Swim Club coach Yuri Sugiyama soon noticed Ledecky’s immense talent. In 2011, Suguiyama trained Ledecky to focus on aggressive kicks while swimming, a technique more commonly used by elite male swimmers. Ledecky continued to dominate the U.S. Junior Championships in the 400, 8000 and 1500-meter freestyle events, leading to her participate in the 2012 Olympic Trials in London.
As a 15-year-old, Ledecky was the youngest member of the 530 athletes of the U.S. team. Ledecky defeated the reigning world champion Kate Ziegler in the 800 meter freestyle, breaking the 23-year-old record and winning gold. Ledecky continued her athletic career under a new coach, Bruce Gemmell.
After demonstrating her talents in long and middle-distance events, Ledecky broke her first world records in the 800 and 1500-meter freestyle events at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships and won gold in the 200 and 400-meter freestyle.
Ledecky became the first woman to win in all four freestyle events in a major competition and was recognized for her victories as a two-time Swimmer of the Year by FINA and World Aquatics, Female Olympic Athlete of the Year three times and Golden Goggle Female Athlete of the Year nine times. Before graduating high school in 2015, Ledecky accepted a swimming scholarship from the University of Stanford, but deferred enrollment to focus on training for the 2016 Olympics.
After competing in the World Championship in Russia, Ledecky began experiencing dizziness and a prolonged lack of energy and was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Due to a high amount of hormones released by the body, POTS affects blood pressure and heart rate. But luckily for Ledecky, POTS symptoms can often be alleviated through swimming.
In the 2016 Olympics, Ledecky broke her own world record in the women’s 400 meter freestyle and earned medals in the 4×100-meter relay 200, 4×200 and 800-meter free events. She continued to defend her 2012 world title by setting another world record in the 800 free. After this competition Ledecky became the second woman to win three individual freestyle events at a single Olympic game.
When the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the 2020 Olympic games, Ledecky took a year off of competing to complete her degree in psychology with a minor in political science. During her time at Stanford, Ledecky won eight National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles and 15 NCAA records, leading her team to back-to-back NCAA Team Championships and two consecutive Pac-12 Conference Team Championships.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics resumed in 2021, where Ledecky again established herself as a world champion. Despite being defeated in the 400 and 200 meter free, Ledecky retained her 800 meter freestyle title and became the first women’s 1500 meter freestyle Olympic Champion. With a silver medal in a freestyle relay, she became the most decorated individual swimmer in history.
For recognition of her exceptional athletic achievements and positive presence on the global stage, President Joe Biden honored Ledecky with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2024.
Months later, in Paris, Ledecky claimed bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, later defending her title and breaking the Olympic record in the 1500-meter freestyle. After earning her eighth individual gold medal in the 800-meter free Ledecky tied Larisa Latynina for the most Olympic gold medals won in any sport by a woman with nine medals overall. Ledecky finished the Paris Olympics with a silver medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Ledecky is the most decorated female American Olympian with 14 Olympic medals, 26 world championship medals and 16 world championship titles. She is also the first woman to win four consecutive medals in an individual Olympic event and has never lost an 800 or 1500-meter free event on the world stage. Ledecky is a pioneer for female athletes and swimmers across the globe.
