Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Katie Ledecky

How Katie Ledecky built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Katie Ledecky is a highly decorated American competitive swimmer, considered the most decorated female swimmer ever and the most decorated American woman in Olympic history. She boasts a total of 14 Olympic medals, with nine being gold medals. She is tied for the most Olympic gold medals won by a woman alongside Larisa Latynina and ranks as the fifth-most decorated Olympian of all time.

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Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition

2012: Wins Gold in London Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Katie Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:14.63, setting an American record.

2012: Makes Olympic Team at US Olympic Trials

At the 2012 United States Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Katie Ledecky made the Olympic team by placing first in the 800-meter freestyle with a time of 8:19.78. She was the youngest American participant at the 2012 Olympic Games.

2012: Training with Nation's Capital Swim Club

During the summer of 2012, Katie Ledecky trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Yuri Suguiyama.

2013: Qualified for World Aquatics Championships

At the 2013 US National Championships, Katie Ledecky qualified to swim in four individual events and the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain.

2013: Wins Gold at World Championships

At the 2013 World Championships, Katie Ledecky won gold in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle, and in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, setting two world records.

2014: Wins Five Gold Medals at Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Australia, Katie Ledecky won five gold medals and broke two world records in the 400- and 1500-meter freestyle.

2014: US National Championships

At the 2014 US National Championships, Katie Ledecky finished first in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle and set a world record in the 400-meter freestyle.

2014: Breaks World Records at Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational

In June 2014, Katie Ledecky broke her own world records in the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle at the Woodlands Swim Team Senior Invitational.

2015: Wins Five Gold Medals at World Aquatics Championships

At the 2015 World Aquatics Championships in Kazan, Russia, Katie Ledecky won five gold medals and broke three world records. She won in the 200-, 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyles and the 4×200-meter freestyle.

November 2016: Lowered American and U.S. Open marks

In November 2016 at the Ohio State Invitational, Katie Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open records in the women's 500-yard freestyle and 1650-yard freestyle.

2016: Qualifies for Second Olympic Team

At the 2016 United States Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Katie Ledecky won the 200-, 400- and 800-meter freestyles to qualify for her second Olympic team.

2016: Wins Silver in 4x100-meter Freestyle Relay

During the 2016 Summer Olympics, Katie Ledecky won a silver medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay with the United States team, setting a new national record with a time of 3:31.89.

2016: NCAA Records Set During 2016-17 Season

During the 2016–17 NCAA season, Katie Ledecky set 12 NCAA records and nine American records while swimming as a freshman for Stanford University.

2016: Most Decorated Female Athlete at Rio Olympics

In 2016, Katie Ledecky became the most decorated female athlete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, securing four gold medals, one silver medal, and setting two world records.

2016: Resets World Record at Arena Pro Swim Series

In 2016, Katie Ledecky reset her world record in the 800-meter freestyle at the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin, clocking a time of 8:06.68.

2016: Training with Nation's Capital Swim Club through Summer Olympics

Through the 2016 Summer Olympics, Katie Ledecky continued to train with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Bruce Gemmell.

November 2017: Lowered American and U.S. Open mark in 1650-yard freestyle

In November 2017 at the Texas A&M Invitational, Katie Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open mark in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:03.31.

2017: Broke World Aquatics Championships' gold medal record

At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Katie Ledecky broke the World Aquatics Championships' all-time female gold medal record, winning five golds and one silver, bringing her career title total to 14.

2017: Set NCAA and American records, led Stanford to team title

During the 2017–18 NCAA season, Katie Ledecky set another three NCAA records and two American records while helping lead Stanford to its second straight team title.

2017: Won spots on six events at USA Swimming Championships

In 2017, at the USA Swimming Championships, Katie Ledecky qualified for the 2017 World Aquatics Championships by winning the 200-meter freestyle (1:54.84), 400-meter freestyle (3:58.44), and 800-meter freestyle (8:11.50), earning a spot in six events.

May 16, 2018: Debut as a professional swimmer

On May 16, 2018, Katie Ledecky debuted as a professional swimmer at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis, Indiana. She beat her old world record in the 1500-meter freestyle, setting a new world record of 15:20.48, breaking the existing mark by five seconds.

June 8, 2018: Signed sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc.

On June 8, 2018, Katie Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc.

July 2018: Qualified for 2018 Pan Pacific Championships

In July 2018, at the 2018 USA Swimming Championships in Irvine, Katie Ledecky qualified for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships by finishing first in the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle.

2018: Won three individual titles at Pan Pacific Championships

At the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo, Katie Ledecky led all swimmers with three individual titles, winning golds in the 400-, 800-, and 1500-meter freestyle. She also took bronze in the 200-meter freestyle and silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle.

2019: Won fourth-straight World Championship title

At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, Katie Ledecky battled illness and withdrew from two events before winning her fourth-straight World Championship title in the 800-meter freestyle.

2020: Most Decorated U.S. Female Athlete at the 2020 Olympic Games

At the 2020 Olympic Games, Katie Ledecky emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete. She also became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads.

2020: Won three races at TYR Pro Swim Series

Katie Ledecky began 2020 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, Iowa, where she won the 200-, 400- and 1500-meter freestyle races. She withdrew from the 800-meter freestyle race due to illness and did not compete at any other events during 2020.

May 20, 2021: Won the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite

On May 20, 2021, at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite, Katie Ledecky won the long course 100 meter freestyle final by one one-hundredth of a second in a time of 53.82, with second place going to Simone Manuel.

June 14, 2021: Secured spot on US Olympic Team

On June 14, 2021, Katie Ledecky competed in the prelims of the 400 meter freestyle, swimming a 4:03.07. In the evening final of the 400 meter freestyle, Ledecky finished first with a time of 4:01.27, securing her first spot on her third US Olympic Team swimming the 400 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

June 2021: Featured in interview discussing Olympic Trials

As part of the NBC evening telecast for day one of the 2020 USA Swimming Olympic trials (postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Katie Ledecky was featured in an interview discussing Stanford University's commencement, finishing her college degree, and training for the Olympic Trials.

June 18, 2021: Advanced to final in 800-meter freestyle

On Friday, June 18, 2021, Katie Ledecky won with a time of 8:16.61 in the prelims heats of the 800-meter freestyle and advanced to the final at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

2021: Won two gold medals and two silver medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics

At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, Katie Ledecky won two gold medals and two silver medals, making her the most decorated U.S. female athlete for a second straight Summer Olympics. In 2021, Ledecky won her second gold medal of the Olympics and her seventh of all time in the 800-meter freestyle.

2021: Won all freestyle races at TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio

Katie Ledecky began 2021 at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio, Texas, and won the 200-, 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle races.

2022: Won three gold medals at USA Swimming Championships

At the 2022 USA Swimming Championships in Irvine, Katie Ledecky won three gold medals by finishing first in the 200-meter freestyle (1:54.50), the 800-meter freestyle (8:12.03), and the 400-meter individual medley (4:35.77).

2022: Qualified for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships

At the 2022 USA Swimming International Team Trials in Greensboro, Katie Ledecky qualified for the 2022 World Aquatics Championships by finishing first in the 200-meter freestyle (1:55.15), the 400-meter freestyle (3:59.52), the 800-meter freestyle (8:09.27) and the 1500-meter freestyle (15:38.99).

2022: Won four events at World Aquatics Championships

At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Katie Ledecky won all four of her events: the 400 meter freestyle, 1500 meter freestyle, 4 × 200 freestyle relay, and 800-meter freestyle. With four golds, Ledecky expanded her career World Championships medal haul to 22 and earned FINA's female swimmer of the meet trophy for a third time.

2023: Won three gold medals at USA Swimming Championships

At the 2023 USA Swimming Championships in Indianapolis, Katie Ledecky won three gold medals (400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle) and a silver medal (200-meter freestyle). Her times in the 800-meter freestyle (8:07.07) and 1500-meter freestyle (15:29.64) were among the fastest in history.

2023: Won two gold and two silver medals at World Aquatics Championships

At the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Katie Ledecky won two gold medals and two silver medals. Her 16th career individual gold medal surpassed Michael Phelps for most individual gold medals at the world championships.

2023: Wins Sixth World Championship Gold

In 2023, Katie Ledecky won gold in the 800 meter World Championship, becoming the first swimmer to win six World Championship gold medals in the same event.

2024: Competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Katie Ledecky finished third in the 400-metre freestyle, defended her title in the 1500 metre freestyle event, setting the new Olympic record with a time of 15:30:02. She won her fourth consecutive gold medal and eighth individual gold (an all-time record for women at the Olympics, a new all-time record for women at the Olympics, the previous one set by gymnast Věra Čáslavská had stood for 56 years) in the 800 metre freestyle and also competed in the 4x200m freestyle relay, winning the silver medal.

2024: Qualified for fourth Olympics at US Olympic trials

At the 2024 US Olympic trials, Katie Ledecky qualified for her fourth Olympics. She finished in first place in four events: 200-meter freestyle (1:55.22), 400-meter freestyle (3:58.35), 800-meter freestyle (8:14.12), and 1500-meter freestyle (15:37.35).

May 3, 2025: Broke world record in the women's 800-metre freestyle

On May 3, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Katie Ledecky broke her own world record in the women's 800-metre freestyle, setting a new world record of 8:04.12.