American swimmer Katie Ledecky has a lot in common with the retired legend of her sport, Michael Phelps, 38.
Both are Maryland natives who crafted careers with incredible longevity and consistency.
Ledecky, 26, has been swimming competitively since she was 15 years old, and over the weekend, she surpassed Phelps in one notable area.
She won her 16th individual world title, one more than Phelps achieved in his career, in her favorite event, the 800-meter freestyle.
Even more impressive is that it is her sixth time winning a title at that distance.
WORLD TITLE NUMBER 16 FOR KATIE LEDECKY!
She has broken her tie with Michael Phelps for the most career individual swimming world titles! pic.twitter.com/QIhr8D7VPJ
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 29, 2023
Paris Olympics 2024 Is On Her Radar… And Maybe Los Angeles 2028
Ledecky is a three-time Olympian and is setting her sights on the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris next summer.
She has also not closed the door to competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
Katie Ledecky isn’t ruling out the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles 👀 pic.twitter.com/cwxF19buiF
— espnW (@espnW) July 15, 2023
Ledecky continues to train hard and enjoy the sport of swimming, and the results speak for themselves.
She has seven Olympic medals (six gold and one silver) in individual events and three in relay events (one gold and two silver).
Ledecky was the first gold medalist in the newest event for women’s swimming, the 1500-meter freestyle introduced at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Honored To Be Mentioned With Phelps
And on top of all of that, she remains humble.
“I know Michael, I know how many events he swam at meets like this. It’s an honor to even be in that same sentence.”
She also always credits her competitors for pushing her to train to be faster and better.
“I’ve never even dreamt of even coming to meets like this, so to be here and to have been to a bunch of world championships is amazing. It is always a battle, it is always a great race. So I know I have to bring my best every single time.”
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