Katie Ledecky Makes Surprise 2028 Olympic Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated Dec 9, 2024 7:39 PM ET

It's only been a few months since the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, but it's never too early for nine-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky to begin her prep for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Speaking with Rob Lepelstat of STAT Sports, Ledecky confirmed she is training and preparing to compete to qualify for the USA Swimming team.

"I know it's going to be a lot of hard work. I'm going to continue to take it day by day, give my best effort in training and we'll see what happens."

The 27-year-old would be 31 in 2028.

In addition to her nine Olympic golds, Ledecky has four silver and one bronze medal. In total, she has 38 gold medals across six disciplines, including the Olympics, World Championships, and Pan Pacific Championships.

9x Olympic gold medalist @katieledecky isn’t DONE YET!

She’s got her eyes set on competing in the LA 2028 Olympics on American soil ‍♀️

What would it mean to her to be competing in a US Olympics?

“A major pinch me moment!”

(via @STATSports1, @RobLep1) pic.twitter.com/QzEhfpUasb
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 10, 2024

Ledecky's best opportunity to make the team would be on the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events. She has won the 800-meter free gold in four straight Olympics and the 1500-meter free in two straight.

A graduate of Stanford, Ledecky was born in Washington, DC and raised in the suburbs of Maryland. She began swimming at the age of six, and her mother, Mary Gen, swam at the University of New Mexico.

Ledecky holds two world records (800m free, 1500m free) and one national record (400m free). She holds the women's record for most individual gold medals (16) and overall gold medals (21) at the World Championships.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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