Katie Ledecky is already thinking about getting back to the big Olympic stage in four years.
Ledecky, 27, has shined in Paris, as she will be going home with two gold medals, a silver and a bronze, and her final gold in her signature 800-meter race on Saturday solidified her as the most decorated female Olympian with 14 medals, nine of which are gold.
Despite her efforts over the tight Olympic schedule, she is not looking forward to any time off.
“I’ve kind of been dreading this break,” Ledecky told reporters Saturday about her calendar in the upcoming weeks when she will go home to Bethesda, Md. “I have no idea how long it’s going to be. I’m sure I’ll find my way back to the pool pretty soon.”
“Pretty soon” is still probably sooner than the average person would consider if competing against the world’s best talent.
However, to achieve the level of greatness Ledecky has found since her first gold medal at 15 years old at the 2012 London Olympics, too much of a break likely wouldn’t bode well for her fitness level, nor mental clarity on her level of preparedness.
“I probably enjoy the training more than the racing,” Ledecky said. “… Honestly, if I could go back to training on Sept. 1 and just train all fall, I’ll be one happy camper.”
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Ledecky found herself challenged by the younger generation of swimmers in Paris, who she will certainly see in Los Angeles in 2028.
In her opening final — the 400-meter freestyle — Aussie Ariarne Titmus, 23, and Canadian Summer McIntosh, 17, got the best of Ledecky to grab the top two spots on the podium.
Titmus and her other Australian teammates also stole the gold from the U.S. and Ledecky in the women’s 4×200 freestyle relay.
However, Ledecky still earned gold in her two best events, in which she holds the world record in both.
She dominated the 1500-meter freestyle, beating silver medalist Anastasiia Kirpichnikova of France by 10.33 seconds.
In the 800-meter free, she faced Titmus again and the pair remained neck-and-neck for much of the race until Ledecky made a move in the last 200 meters to beat her by 1.25 seconds.
Still, she is likely to prepare just as much as she did for Paris, if not more to still maintain an edge over her young opponents.
“I’m always in the pool,” Ledecky wrote in her autobiography, per the Washington Post.. “Hours a day, nearly every day, since I was a toddler perched on the side ladder, blowing bubbles and kicking my feet. The pool is and has always been my refuge. It functions as my playground, my hobby, my passion, my workplace, my lifeblood.”
