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Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky ( ; born March 17, 1997) is an American competitive swimmer. She is the most decorated female swimmer in history and the most decorated American woman in Olympic history, with a total of 14 Olympic medals, including nine golds. She shares the record for the most Olympic gold medals won by a woman with Larisa Latynina and ranks as the fifth-most decorated Olympian of all time.
Ledecky has won a record 16 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships, and is the world record holder in the women's 800- and 1500-meter freestyle, both long course and short course, as well as the former world record holder in the women's 400-meter freestyle (long course). In her international debut at the 2012 London Olympic Games as a 15-year-old, Ledecky unexpectedly won the gold medal in the women's 800-metre freestyle. Four years later, she left Rio de Janeiro as the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 Olympic Games, with four gold medals, one silver medal, and two world records.
At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ledecky emerged as the most decorated U.S. female athlete and became the first American female swimmer to win an individual event in three straight Olympiads. In 2023, she won gold in the 800 meter World Championship, becoming the first swimmer—male or female—to win six World Championship gold medals in the same event. In total, she has won 50 medals (38 golds, 10 silvers, and 2 bronzes) in major international competitions, spanning the Summer Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships. During her career, she has broken 17 world records.
Ledecky's success has earned her Swimming World Female World Swimmer of the Year a record five times. Ledecky was also named Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year in 2017 and 2022, international female Champion of Champions by L'Équipe in 2014 and 2017, United States Olympic Committee Female Athlete of the Year in 2013, 2016 and 2017, Sportswoman of the Year by the Women's Sports Foundation in 2017, and the ESPY Best Female Athlete in 2022.Roxanna Scott, " Katie Ledecky wins Female Athlete of the Olympic Games", USA Today (September 29, 2016). Retrieved December 27, 2016. In 2024, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Joe Biden.
Ledecky began swimming at the age of six under the influence of her older brother, Michael, and her mother, who swam for the University of New Mexico. In Bethesda, she attended Little Flower School through eighth grade and graduated from Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in 2015. During her high-school swimming career, Ledecky twice set the American and US Open record in the 500-yard freestyle, and she twice set the national high-school record in the 200-yard freestyle.
During the summers prior to 2012, she swam for Palisades Swim Team in Cabin John, Maryland. During the summer of 2012, she trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club (formerly the Curl Burke Swim Club) under coach Yuri Suguiyama. Following Suguiyama's departure to coach for the University of California, Berkeley, she continued to train with the Nation's Capital Swim Club under coach Bruce Gemmell through the 2016 Summer Olympics. Ledecky accepted an athletic scholarship to Stanford University, where she swam for coach Greg Meehan's Stanford Cardinal women's swimming team.
In December 2016, Ledecky was chosen as one of the Ship sponsor of the US Navy aircraft carrier alongside Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles. They were the first Olympians to be given this honor.
In December 2020, she completed a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and minor in political science from Stanford University, and graduated in June 2021.
In her second event, Ledecky won gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in a world record time of 15:36.53, breaking the record held by compatriot Kate Ziegler by six seconds. The hard-fought race saw Ledecky overcome Dane Lotte Friis in the final few hundred meters after losing the lead at the 300-meter mark and included a final 50 split of 29.47.
In her third, and first relay event of her international career, the 4×200-meter freestyle, Ledecky and teammates Shannon Vreeland, Karlee Bispo, and Missy Franklin won gold in 7:45.14. Anchor Missy Franklin overtook Australian Alicia Coutts in the last 200 meters, giving the US the gold. Ledecky provided the US with an early lead, swimming the first leg in a personal best of 1:56.32.
In her fourth and last event, the 800-meter freestyle, Ledecky won gold in a world record of 8:13.86, bettering Rebecca Adlington's world record of 8:14.10. Much like the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky let Lotte Friis lead most of the race, making a move at the 650-meter mark to eventually win the race by 2.46 seconds.
Ledecky scored more points than any other swimmer to earn the FINA trophy for best female swimmer of the meet.
At year's end, Ledecky was named the American Swimmer of the Year and the World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World magazine. She was also named the best female swimmer for 2013 by FINA Aquatics World magazine.
In the 200-meter freestyle final, Ledecky had over a half-second lead on the field at the halfway point before winning by 1.46 seconds with a meet record time of 1:55.74. Less than an hour later, Ledecky won the 800-meter freestyle, swimming under her world record pace for most of the race before touching in at 8:11.35, the second-fastest time ever, to win by 7.52 seconds over New Zealand swimmer Lauren Boyle.Jason Marsteller, " Pan Pacific Championships, Results: Katie Ledecky Trounces Pan Pacs Record in 200 Free", Swimming World (August 21, 2014). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
The next day, Ledecky added her third meet record by swimming on the American 4×200-meter freestyle relay team with Shannon Vreeland, Missy Franklin, and Leah Smith. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky erased a 1.2-second deficit going into the final leg of the race, passing Australia's Melanie Schlanger with a 1:54.36 split over the final 200 meters. She also swam in the 100-meter freestyle heats.
On the third day of the meet, Ledecky set her fourth meet record in the 400-meter freestyle prelim heats with a time of 4:03.09. That night, Ledecky lowered the record again, setting the first world record ever at the new Gold Coast Aquatic Center with a time of 3:58.37. Ledecky's winning time was over six seconds quicker than American teammate and silver medalist Cierra Runge.Jason Marsteller, " Katie Ledecky Smashes 400 Free World Record, Nearly Clears 3:58! (Pan Pacific Championships Results)", Swimming World (August 23, 2014). Retrieved March 3, 2015.
On the meet's final day, Ledecky set her fifth world record of the year, lowering her record in the 1500-meter freestyle by nearly six seconds with a time of 15:28.36. Ledecky swam the second half of the race faster than the first, completing the final 800 meters in 8:14.11—faster than any other woman has completed a regular 800-meter race in a textile suit." LCM Women Records as of 2/21/2015 ", USA Swimming. Retrieved March 2, 2015. Ledecky lapped three competitors in the final and finished 27.33 seconds ahead of silver medalist Boyle. National Team Director Frank Busch described Ledecky's 1500 performance as "the most impressive race I have ever seen, and I've been in the sport for 50 years.... She's blazing a completely different trail than anyone who has come before."Dave Sheinin, " Katie Ledecky finishes high school career with Olympics, more world records in sight." The Washington Post (February 4, 2015). Retrieved March 2, 2015.
During the championships' closing ceremonies, Ledecky was named the female swimmer of the meet.Elliott Almond, " Stanford-bound swimmer Katie Ledecky sets world record", Mercury News (August 25, 2014). Retrieved March 2, 2015.
At year's end, Ledecky was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.
Ledecky began the World Championships by winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle in a time of 3:59.13, a new championship record and almost four seconds ahead of her closest competitor.Jason Marsteller, " Katie Ledecky Making Sub-4:00 Look Pedestrian With Meet Record to Defend 400 Free Title at 2015 FINA World Championships", Swimming World (August 2, 2015). Retrieved August 3, 2015. In the heats of the 1500-meter freestyle on the second day of competition, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:27.71.
On the third day of competition during the morning session, Ledecky swam in the heats of the 200-meter freestyle and qualified first with a time of 1:55.82. In the evening session, Ledecky faced a tough double with the 1500-meter freestyle final and the semi-finals of the 200-meter freestyle shortly after. In the 1500-meter freestyle, Ledecky broke her own world record in a time of 15:25.48. Twenty-nine minutes later, Ledecky qualified 6th in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:56.76.
In her only event on the fourth day of competition, the 200-meter freestyle, Ledecky won her third gold medal of the meet, winning in a time of 1:55.16. Unlike her other races, it was not an easy win for Ledecky, which featured the likes of Missy Franklin and Federica Pellegrini. In the end, Ledecky was able to hold off a fast charging Pellegrini, eventually winning by a 0.16 margin. Ledecky's final 50-meter split of 29.33 was the second-fastest in the field behind Pellegrini's 29.23.
On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Missy Franklin, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin won gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:55.64 and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:45.37.
On the seventh day of competition, Ledecky completed her World Championships run by winning gold in the 800-meter freestyle in a world record time of 8:07.39, breaking her own record by 3.61 seconds.
Her first individual event was the 400-meter freestyle. Ledecky qualified in the heats with a time of 3:58.71, an Olympic record. In the final, she won the gold medal with a world record time of 3:56.46––nearly two seconds faster than her previous record from 2014 and almost 5 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin.
Ledecky won a second gold in the 200-meter freestyle with a personal best of 1:53.73, beating Sarah Sjöström by 0.35 seconds.
Ledecky claimed her third gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, with Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Maya DiRado. Swimming the anchor leg again, Ledecky provided the fastest split of the field (1:53.74) to turn a 0.89-second deficit into a 1.84-second victory, stopping the clock at 7:43.03.
She won a fourth gold in her final individual event, the 800-meter freestyle. She qualified in the heats with an Olympic record, 8:12.86, and set a world record in the finals of 8:04.79, over 11 seconds faster than the silver medalist, Jazmin Carlin.
With three individual titles, Ledecky became the first swimmer to win the 200, 400 and 800 m freestyle at the same Olympics since Debbie Meyer did so in 1968 in Mexico City. Ledecky's final medal total (four golds, one silver) is the most decorated single-Olympics performance by a U.S. female athlete in terms of gold medals, topping Missy Franklin (2012; four golds, 1 bronze), Simone Biles (2016; four golds, 1 bronze), and Amy Van Dyken (1996; four golds). Ledecky was also the 2nd most decorated Olympian at the 2016 games behind Michael Phelps (5 golds, 1 silver).
At the Ohio State Invitational in November 2016, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open marks in the women's 500-yard freestyle and 1650-yard freestyle.
At the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors with four American records as Stanford won its first conference title in four years. On the first day of the meet, Ledecky anchored the 800-yard freestyle relay with a 1:40.28 split to break the NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record in the 800-yard freestyle relay with Lia Neal, Katie Drabot, and Ella Eastin. The next day, Ledecky lowered her own mark again in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:25.15. On the meet's third day, she won the 400-yard individual medley in a new American record of 3:57.68 before finishing second to teammate Simone Manuel in the 200-yard freestyle with a personal best time less than a half hour later. On the meet's final day, Ledecky joined Manuel, Neal, and Janet Hu to break the NCAA and American record in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
At the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, Ledecky helped lead Stanford to its first team title since 1998. She reset her American, NCAA, and U.S. Open records in the 800-yard freestyle relay, 500-yard freestyle, and 400-yard freestyle relay and won a meet-best five race titles overall. On the meet's first day, she recorded the team's fastest split to lower the 800-yard freestyle relay record to 6:45.91 with Manuel, Neal, and Eastin. The next day, she lowered her own record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:24.06, beating the second-fastest performer of all time, Leah Smith, by nearly five seconds. On the meet's third day, Ledecky's 20th birthday, Ledecky recorded a personal-best time of 1:40.36 in the 200-yard freestyle to edge Manuel and tie Louisville sophomore Mallory Comerford for the title. On the meet's final day, Ledecky set an NCAA record in the 1000-yard freestyle (9:06.90) en route to a championship record in the 1650-yard freestyle (15:07.70), defeating runner-up Smith by 21.19 seconds and lapping all other competitors. In the meet's final event, Ledecky joined Manuel, Neal, and Hu to swim the second leg of Stanford's 400-yard freestyle relay. The team lowered its previous record with a time of 3:07.61, securing a 526.5–366 decision over runner-up California-Berkeley, the largest championship margin of victory since 2003.
Following the season, Ledecky became the first freshman in 35 years to receive the Honda Cup, which recognizes the nation's top female collegiate athlete.
In her first event, the 400-meter freestyle, Ledecky successfully defended her world title, finishing with a championship record time of 3:58.34. Later that evening, Ledecky swam the third leg of the 4×100-meter freestyle. Joined with Mallory Comerford, Kelsi Worrell, and Simone Manuel, Ledecky recorded a split of 53.83, helping the team win gold with a time of 3:31.72, a new national record for the United States.
On the third day of competition, Ledecky defended her 1500-meter freestyle title, winning with a time of 15:31.82. With this win being Ledecky's twelfth World Championship gold medal, Ledecky passed Missy Franklin for the most gold medals won by a female swimmer in long course World Championships history.
On the fourth day of competition, Ledecky tied for silver in the 200-meter freestyle (with Emma McKeon), finishing behind Federica Pellegrini with a time of 1:55.18. This was Ledecky's first international loss in a final in individual event. Notably, in the semifinals the day prior, Ledecky recorded the top time in the semifinals with a time of 1:54.69. She achieved this result less than an hour after swimming the 1500-meter freestyle final.
On the fifth day of competition, Ledecky, with Leah Smith, Mallory Comerford, and Melanie Margalis won gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the anchor leg, Ledecky recorded a split of 1:54.02, and the Americans finished with an aggregate time of 7:43.39.
Ledecky concluded the meet with a win in the 800-meter freestyle, her fifth-straight title in the event across Olympics and World Championships.
At the Texas A&M Invitational in November 2017, Ledecky lowered her American and U.S. Open mark in the 1650-yard freestyle with a time of 15:03.31.
Following another undefeated dual meet season, Ledecky earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second straight year at the Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, sweeping the 500-yard freestyle, 400-yard individual medley, and 200-yard freestyle. In the 400-yard individual medley, Ledecky broke Katinka Hosszú's all-time record by one-hundredth of a second, finishing in 3:56.53. Stanford earned its second team title in as many years.
At the NCAA Championships, Ledecky won the 500 and 1650-yard freestyle events by record margins and anchored the winning 800-yard freestyle relay team of Katie Drabot, Brooke Forde, and Ella Eastin. Ledecky finished second in the 400-yard individual medley to Eastin, who lowered the record Ledecky set a month earlier at the Pac-12 Championships. In the 1650-yard freestyle, Ledecky re-set her NCAA record in the 1000-yard free with a split of 9:05.89 en route to winning by more than 28 seconds. In the team standings, Stanford beat runner-up California-Berkeley by 220 points, the largest margin of victory in 25 years.
A week following Stanford's championship win, Ledecky announced at the National Press Club that she will forego her final two seasons of NCAA eligibility in order to accept professional endorsement and sponsorship opportunities. She signed with Wasserman sports agent Dan Levy for representation.
At the academic year's conclusion, the College Sports Information Directors of America named Ledecky the Division I Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for her athletic and academic achievements.
Ledecky signed her first sponsorship deal with TYR Sport, Inc. on June 8, 2018.
On the first day of competition, Ledecky won gold in the 800-meter freestyle with a championship-record time of 8:09.13, topping runner-up Ariarne Titmus of Australia by 7.94 seconds. Just over an hour later, Ledecky took third in the 200-meter freestyle (1:55.15), finishing behind Canada's Taylor Ruck (1:54.44) and Japan's Rikako Ikee (1:54.85).
The next day, Ledecky anchored the United States team of Allison Schmitt, Leah Smith, and Katie McLaughlin in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Entering the water with a 2.88-second deficit, Ledecky swam the fourth-fastest relay split in history (1:53.84), nearly overtaking Australian Madeline Groves, who touched 0.25 seconds ahead of Ledecky to set a new championship and national record.
On the third day, Ledecky defeated Titmus wire-to-wire in the 400-meter freestyle.
Ledecky concluded the championships with another gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, winning by a margin of 21.11 seconds (15:38.97).
On the first day of competition, Ledecky led Australian Ariarne Titmus into the final wall of the 400-meter freestyle final before fading to second. The next morning, Ledecky struggled through her preliminary heat of the 1500-meter freestyle despite qualifying first for the event's final. She subsequently announced her withdrawal from the 1500 and 200-meter freestyle due to illness.
Ledecky returned to competition three days later to swim the final of the women's 4x200-meter freestyle relay. The Americans (Simone Manuel, Ledecky, Melanie Margalis and Katie McLaughlin) set a new American record and swam under the existing world record with a time of 7:41.87, yet placed second to the Australian team (7:41.50).
Still recovering from illness, Ledecky qualified second the next day for the final of the 800-meter freestyle. In the final, Ledecky swam to an early lead before Italian swimmer Simona Quadarella took over midway through the race. Ledecky trailed Quadarella into the final wall. Ledecky passed Quadarella and pulled away in the final 50 meters to win by 1.41 seconds.
In the inaugural season of the International Swimming League, Ledecky represented DC Trident.
For the seventh-straight year, Ledecky finished the year with the top times in the world in both the 800- and 1500-meter freestyle (8:10.70 and 15:35.98).
Ledecky collected several end-of-decade honors. Fifty-two percent of SwimSwam.com readers voted Ledecky the top swimmer of the decade, ahead of Michael Phelps. Readers of The London Evening Standard voted Ledecky the International Sportswoman of the Decade. She finished third in the Associated Press's Female Athlete of the Decade voting, behind Serena Williams and Simone Biles.
On Thursday May 20, 2021, at the Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite 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. "Meet Results: Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite 5/20/2021 – 5/23/2021". HY-TEK. May 20, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
On the second day, June 14, 2021, Ledecky competed in the prelims of the 400 meter freestyle in the morning, swimming a 4:03.07, ranking 1st out of all prelims heats, and advancing to the final in the evening. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 400m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.Anderson, Jared (June 14, 2021). "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 14, 2021. The 400 meter freestyle was the first race on Ledecky's schedule where she had the opportunity to make the 2020 USA Olympic Team.OlympicTalk (June 14, 2021). "Katie Ledecky's first opportunity to make Tokyo Olympic team has arrived in 400m freestyle". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 14, 2021. 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. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 400m Freestyle Final Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 14, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 14, 2021). "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 2 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 14, 2021.Stanford Athletics (June 14, 2021). "Tickets Punched: Katie Ledecky and Torri Huske are Tokyo Bound". Stanford University. Retrieved June 14, 2021.Rieder, David (June 14, 2021). "U.S. Olympic Trials: Katie Ledecky Swims 4:01.27 to Qualify for Third Olympics; Paige Madden Pulls Away for Second". Swimming World. Retrieved June 14, 2021. This accomplishment was highlighted by various news outlets including NBC Sports, Newsweek, and USA Today.OlympicTalk (June 14, 2021). "Katie Ledecky relieved to check the box after qualifying for third Olympics". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 14, 2021.McDonald, Scott (June 14, 2021). "Katie Ledecky vs Ariarne Titmus Rivalry Emerges in 400m Freestyle Before Tokyo". Newsweek. Retrieved June 14, 2021.Brennan, Christine (June 14, 2021). "Katie Ledecky makes US Olympic team with win in women's 400-meter freestyle". USA Today. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
In the morning of day three, Ledecky swam a 1:57.58 in the 200 meter freestyle prelims, ranking second fastest of all heats. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021. Two events later, she swam a 15:43.10 in the 1500 meter freestyle prelims, ranking as the fastest swimmer of prelims heat, advancing to the final, and setting a new Championship Record over four seconds faster than the previous record she set in 2013. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.Anderson, Jared (June 15, 2021). "2021 U.S. Olympic trials Wave II: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 15, 2021. Later the same day in the evening semifinals for the 200 meter freestyle, Ledecky finished first with a time of 1:55.83. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
On day 4, June 16, she won both the 200m and 1500m freestyle finals in the evening. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 200m Freestyle Final Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 1500m Freestyle Final Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.Zaccardi, Nick (June 16, 2021). "Katie Ledecky, after chats with legends, wins two races in one night at Olympic Swimming Trials". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 16, 2021. Ledecky swam a 15:40.50 in the 1500 meter freestyle, lowering her Championship Record from the day before and becoming the first winner of the women's 1500 meter freestyle at the US Olympic Trials.Sutherland, James (June 16, 2021). "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 4 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 16, 2021. She swam a 1:55.11 in the 200 meter freestyle. These two swims secured her spots on the US Olympic Team for the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 1500 meter freestyle and 200 meter freestyle individual events as well as the 4 × 200 meter freestyle relay. Ledecky won the 200 meter and 1500 meter freestyle finals in a time span of about 70 minutes as well as collecting her medal at the 200 meter freestyle medal ceremony and eating a snack.Maese, Rick (June 16, 2021). "For Katie Ledecky, the long and short of it is first place in both the 1,500 and 200 freestyle". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2021.Kumar, Aishwarya (June 16, 2021). "Katie Ledecky shows dominance, poise at U.S. Olympics swim trials". ESPN. Retrieved June 17, 2021.Associated Press (June 17, 2021). "Katie Ledecky wins 1500m free 70 minutes after 200m at US Olympic Trials". The Guardian. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
Friday June 18, 2021, the sixth day of competition, Ledecky won with a time of 8:16.61 in the prelims heats of the 800-meter freestyle and advanced to the final. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 800m Freestyle Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.Anderson, Jared (June 18, 2021). "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 6 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 18, 2021. The following day in the final, Ledecky won with a time of 8:14.62 and qualified to swim the 800 meter freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics for the United States. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Wave II: Women's 800m Freestyle Final Results Summary". Omega Timing. June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.Sutherland, James (June 19, 2021). "2021 U.S. Olympic Trials Wave II: Day 7 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
In the debut of the women's 1500 meter freestyle at the Summer Olympics, Ledecky set an Olympic record in her heat with a time of 15:35.35 and advanced to the final ranked first overall.Anderson, Jared (July 26, 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 26, 2021.Gaydos, Ryan (July 26, 2021). "Katie Ledecky earns Olympic record, silver medal in busy day". Fox News. Retrieved July 26, 2021. In the same prelims session as the 1500 meter freestyle, Ledecky ranked first in the 200 meter freestyle with a time of 1:55.28 and advanced to the event's semifinals.Pecoraro, Nick (July 26, 2021). "Watch: Ledecky Wins Both 200/1500 FR Heats, Douglass Wins 200 IM Prelims Heat". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 26, 2021. She swam a 1:55.34 in the semifinals of the 200 meter freestyle and advanced to the final ranking third overall.Hart, Torrey (July 26, 2021). "2012 Olympic champion Allison Schmitt misses out on 200m freestyle final in Tokyo". NBC Olympics. Retrieved July 26, 2021.NBC Olympics (July 26, 2021). "Katie Ledecky qualifies for 200m final, will face Titmus". KTVZ. Retrieved July 26, 2021. In the finals of these two events, Ledecky failed to reach the podium for the 200 m freestyle, placing 5th behind Titmus, Haughey, Penny Oleksiak, and Yang Junxuan, but placed 1st in the 1500 m race, leading teammate Erica Sullivan (silver) by 4 seconds, clinching her first gold medal of the Games. She finished the final in 15:37.34, but her record from the preliminary round still holds.
The next day, Ledecky anchored for Team USA in the women's 4 × 200 freestyle relay, winning a silver medal alongside teammates Allison Schmitt, Paige Madden, and Katie McLaughlin behind China. Before she entered the pool, the United States was trailing both Australia and China, but she swam a time of 1:53.76 to finish the race 0.4 seconds behind the Chinese swimmer Li Bingjie and ahead of Australia, who were the favorites coming into the competition. Ledecky's split was the fastest of all swimmers in the relay finals. Ledecky won her second gold medal of the Olympics and her seventh of all time in the 800-meter freestyle. Her six individual gold medals are the most of any female Olympic swimmer and female US Olympian, and the second-most of all Olympic swimmers behind Michael Phelps. She became the first swimmer to win a distance event three times in a row, as well as the youngest and oldest person to win the 800 free (at age 15 in 2012 and age 24 in 2021).
Following the Olympic Games on September 22, Ledecky announced her intention to train with coach Anthony Nesty at the University of Florida.Sutherland, James (September 22, 2021). "Olympic Champion Katie Ledecky Heads To Florida To Train Under Anthony Nesty". SwimSwam. Retrieved December 5, 2021.Rieder, David (September 27, 2021). "The Week That Was: Katie Ledecky Announces Move to Gainesville, ISL Regular Season Concludes". Swimming World. Retrieved December 5, 2021. Additionally, Ledecky signed on to be a volunteer swim coach for the Florida Gators. "Katie Ledecky joining Florida Gators as volunteer swimming coach". ESPN. September 22, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
On the first day of competition, Ledecky won the 400-meter freestyle in a championship record 3:58.15, besting Canadian silver medalist Summer McIntosh by 1.24 seconds. Ledecky's swim was the seventh-fastest performance in history.
Ledecky won the 1500-meter freestyle two days later in a time of 15:30.15, over 14 seconds faster than runner-up and teammate Katie Grimes. Ledecky's time was the sixth-fastest ever (behind only her own performances) and over 7 seconds faster than her winning time at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Ledecky joined Claire Weinstein, Leah Smith, and Bella Sims on the U.S. 4 × 200 freestyle relay on day five. Swimming the third leg, Ledecky passed Australia and Canada to take the lead with the third-fastest split in history (1:53.67). Sims anchored the team to a championship record time of 7:41.45.
On day 7, Ledecky won her final event by over 10 seconds, recording a time of 8:08.04 in the 800-meter freestyle. The swim was the fifth-fastest in history and earned Ledecky the 28 fastest times in the distance. With the victory, Ledecky became the first swimmer, male or female, to win five consecutive world championship titles in an individual event.
The following week at the World Cup's Indianapolis stop, Ledecky broke the world record in the 800m short course freestyle. Her time of 7:57.42 surpassed Mireia Belmonte's mark from 2013.
On the first day of competition, Ledecky placed second in the 400-meter freestyle to Ariarne Titmus, who set a new world record in the event (3:55.38). Ledecky's time of 3:58.73 topped New Zealand's Erika Fairweather (3:59.59) and Canada's Summer McIntosh (3:59.94) in the first women's 400-meter race that saw four swimmers break the 4-minute barrier.
Two days later, Ledecky won the 1500-meter freestyle by over 17 seconds. Her time of 15:26.27 was the third-fastest time in history, trailing only her world and world championship records.
Ledecky joined Erin Gemmell, Bella Sims, and Alex Shackell to earn the silver medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay. Ledecky swam the second leg and posted a team-best split of 1:54.39 as Australia lowered the world record by 1.79 seconds.
Ledecky concluded her meet on Day 7 with the final of the 800-meter freestyle. Ledecky posted the sixth-fastest time in history (8:08.87) to top China's Li Bingjie by 4.44 seconds. Li and Ariarne Titmus became the second- and third-fastest performers ever in the event, while Ledecky retained the 29 fastest times in history. With the victory, Ledecky passed Michael Phelps as the swimmer with the most career individual world championship gold medals and became the first swimmer to win six-straight world titles in an event.
Her combined 24 individual titles at the Olympics (8) and World Aquatics Championships (16) is also a record for female swimmers.
Ledecky has also received the following awards:
Ledecky has also received the following honors:
| 25.45 | h | 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | November 12, 2015 | |
| 53.75 | 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series | Austin, Texas, United States | January 15, 2016 | ||
| 1:53.73 | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | August 9, 2016 | ||
| 3:56.46 | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | August 7, 2016 | NR, Former WR | |
| 8:04.12 | 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | May 3, 2025 | WR | |
| 15:20.48 | 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series | Indianapolis, Indiana | May 16, 2018 | WR | |
| 2:13.77 | h | 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series | Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States | March 2, 2023 | |
| 2:12.67 | h | 2024 Atlanta Classic | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | May 18, 2024 | |
| 4:35.77 | 2022 U.S. National Championships | Irvine, California, United States | July 28, 2022 |
| 3:52.88 | 2022 World Cup | Toronto, Canada | October 28, 2022 | NR |
| 7:57.42 | 2022 World Cup | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | November 5, 2022 | WR |
| 15:08.24 | 2022 World Cup | Toronto, Canada | October 29, 2022 | WR |
| 1:40.36 | 2017 NCAA Division I Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | March 17, 2017 | |
| 4:24.06 | 2017 NCAA Division I Championships | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | March 16, 2017 | NR |
| 8:59.65 | 2015 Nation's Capital Invitational | College Park, Maryland, United States | December 13, 2015 | NR |
| 15:01.41 | 2023 Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships | Orlando, Florida, United States | March 12, 2023 | NR |
| 3:56.53 | 2018 Pac-12 Championships | Federal Way, Washington, United States | February 23, 2018 | Former NR |
| 1 | 1500 m freestyle | 2013 World Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 16 | ||
| 2 | 800 m freestyle | 2013 World Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 16 | ||
| 3 | 1500 m freestyle (2) | 15:34.23 | 2014 TWST Senior Invitational | Shenandoah, Texas | 17 | |
| 4 | 800 m freestyle (2) | 8:11.00 | 2014 TWST Senior Invitational | Shenandoah, Texas | 17 | |
| 5 | 400 m freestyle | 3:58.86 | 2014 U.S. National Championships | Irvine, California | 17 | |
| 6 | 400 m freestyle (2) | 2014 Pan Pacific Championships | Gold Coast, Australia | 17 | ||
| 7 | 1500 m freestyle (3) | 2014 Pan Pacific Championships | Gold Coast, Australia | 17 | ||
| 8 | 1500 m freestyle (4) | 2015 World Championships | Kazan, Russia | 18 | ||
| 9 | 1500 m freestyle (5) | 2015 World Championships | Kazan, Russia | 18 | ||
| 10 | 800 m freestyle (3) | 2015 World Championships | Kazan, Russia | 18 | ||
| 11 | 800 m freestyle (4) | 8:06.68 | 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series | Austin, Texas | 18 | |
| 12 | 400 m freestyle (3) | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 19 | ||
| 13 | 800 m freestyle (5) | 2016 Summer Olympics | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 19 | ||
| 14 | 1500 m freestyle (6) | 15:20.48 | 2018 TYR Pro Swim Series | Indianapolis, Indiana | 21 | |
| 15 | 800 m freestyle (6) | 8:04.12 | 2025 TYR Pro Swim Series | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 28 |
| 1 | 1500 m freestyle | 15:08.24 | 2022 World Cup | Toronto, Canada | 25 | |
| 2 | 800 m freestyle | 7:57.42 | 2022 World Cup | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States | 25 |
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