Swimmer Katie Ledecky has achieved greatness once again winning a gold medal Wednesday in the 1,500-meter freestyle in the Paris Olympics games. This is Ledecky's eighth gold medal and 12th overall which both ties the most out of any American woman in history which prompted a surreal reaction from the dynamic athlete saying she is “honored to represent our country.”
“Oh, I'm so honored to represent our country and those women that have set the standard for so many years have inspired me,” Ledecky said right after to NBC. “They inspired me when I first started swimming. So thank you to everyone that has supported me all these years.”
‘Proud of the time and just really wanted us swim a time that I can feel really proud of and happy with,” Ledecky continued about what she was thinking about during the race. “And I kind of let my mind wander during the race, thinking of all the people that have trained with me, was kind of like saying their names in my head and thinking about them. So it's my Florida crew, all those Florida boys that pushed me every day. I love you guys. I mean, I'm making your life hard a lot of days, but you guys made my life a lot easier today. So thank you so much.”
Ledecky on possible retirement after winning eighth gold medal
Ledecky got the Olympics record for the event at 15 minutes, 30.02 seconds which is no doubt impressive, even if the race is fairly new being introduced at the Tokyo Olympics for the women's program in 2021. While the 27-year old was asked about possible retirement, she would say that there is no plan for it and wants to compete in Los Angeles in 2028 according to ESPN.
“I've been consistent over these last few months and last few years in saying that I would love to compete in L.A. and that hasn't changed,” Ledecky said. “That could change. I mean, you never know. So, I really just take it year by year at this point and I really haven't thought much beyond this week in terms of what my fall is going to look like, what my next year is going to look like. But yeah, I don't feel like I'm close to being finished in the sport yet.”
“I try not to really dwell on history or the magnitude of things again, I'll just let you guys do that,” Ledecky continued. “I mean those women that I'm up there with now, they're people that I've looked up to for so many years, I consider many of them friends, supporters, people that I was watching swim when I was just starting out in the sport, so that's very special to me to share that with them and they definitely inspired me, so I hope that some little girl out there is watching and will come along and get up there with all of us someday too.”
There is no doubt that as long as Ledecky is competing, there will be a medal around her neck by the end of it.
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