In June, Parade.com talked with the 24-year-old swimmer from Washington, D.C., who told us why the race was so special to her. The Team USA swimmer told Parade.com “it’s really exciting” that the 1500 free was going to be an Olympic event for women in Tokyo. “For so many years in the Olympics the 1500 free was not a women’s event,” Ledecky explained to Parade.com. “The 800 free was the longest race for women, whereas for the men the 1500 free was an Olympic event and the history of it is that apparently whoever started the Olympics or added the events didn’t think that women could compete at a high level in the 1500.” In 2017, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee announced the decision to include the event, along with 14 others, in the Tokyo Games marking “a key milestone in the evolution of the Olympic programme by introducing youth and urban innovations, significantly improving gender equality, and reducing the overall number of athletes hence reducing the Games’ footprint.” Ledecky, who broke her own world record in the 1500-meter freestyle back in 2018, is happy to finally see more equality in the pool at the Olympics. “It’s been a long time coming that there is now parity between the men and women schedules and [I’m] just really happy that that’s in there now,” she said. “That’s one of my best events and so it’s great that change has finally been made.” In Tokyo, Ledecky showed the world just how good she was feeling about that race as she crushed it, winning the gold medal. Congrats to Ledecky! Before the Olympics, we spoke to Katie about how she was feeling leading up to the competition, how training was going and more about the 1500 race. See what she told us in June 2021:
How does it feel for the Olympics to finally be around the corner? It must feel a lot different than before previous games.
It’s really exciting. I think we’re about a month away from our trials in Omaha and then about a month and a half after that is Tokyo, so it’s finally here and it’s been a long, long journey for us. A challenging year. But I’m really happy with the training that I’ve put in and everything leading up to this point. I feel like I’m in a good spot and it’s finally feeling like it’s right around the corner, which is really fun and exciting.
What has it been like for you, your body and your experience to have all of this extra time to prep and train?
It’s basically been like we’ve had two Olympic years. Every year is important, but we really ramp things up in an Olympic year. Everything kind of just takes on some greater focus and so from fall of 2019 through spring of 2020 we were in Olympic year mindset and then things got postponed and we were able to ease up just a little bit for a couple of months when training was a little different. We were just kind of in a different spot, but then really since mid-summer last year we’ve been in another Olympic year and training really hard and really pushing ourselves. It’s been a tough couple of years, but I also feel like it’s made me better and I feel like I’m in a good spot going into the summer with my training.
I love that this partnership wants to spotlight female athletes. Is there anything about the Olympic games or the experience of just being there that could be more gender equitable for you? Has there ever been a moment where you’re there and you’re like, ‘whatever this is, it doesn’t really account for the female athletes’?
Well as you said, I’m really proud to partner with BIC and really love how they’re supporting both Simone [Manuel] and me and USA swimming. We’re trying to instill that confidence in young girls, well everyone really, and just trying to inspire as many people as we can because we think it can have a real ripple effect. In terms of your question on gender equity, I think I feel very fortunate to be in a sport where men and women compete alongside each other. I know that a lot of sports if you think about the top professional leagues in the United States, you know it’s the NBA or the NHL or the NFL or whatever it is and then there’s the women’s leagues, the WNBA and things like that. And so in swimming and a lot of Olympic sports, I think, the women and the men compete side-by-side. And in swimming, they typically alternate a women’s event with a men’s event. This year it’s really exciting that the1500 free for women is an Olympic event. For so many years in the Olympics, the 1500 free was not a women’s event. The 800 free was the longest race for women whereas for the men the 1500 free was an Olympic event and the history of it, is that apparently whoever started the Olympics or added the events didn’t think that women could compete at a high level in the 1500. So it’s been a long time coming that there is now parity between the men and women schedules and just really happy that that’s in there now.
Have you always felt that you’ve had the confidence that you have now as a swimmer, or is it something that kind of kicked in at a different point in your journey?
I think I’ve always been pretty confident, but I think I’ve also had to learn a lot along the way. I think back to my first games in London in 2012. I was 15 years old and it was my first time competing at the international stage like that. And I just remember being so nervous before my prelim race, but then after my prelim race, I talked to my coaches and they really made me feel like I belonged and they reminded me constantly during those Olympics that I belonged at that stage. That really gave me the confidence going into my finals race and I came away with the gold, so I think it worked. I try to carry that confidence with me at these big meets and really when you get to those big meets, every choice that you make really can impact your race. From the razor that I use for a smooth shave to the time that I put in the pool to all the little things that I’m doing between sleeping right, eating right, resting as much as I can, those things all make a difference and help me be the best version of myself. So I know that if I can do all those little things right, then I’ll have the most confidence behind the blocks to feel really prepared. Interview by Maggie Parker Next, test your Olympics knowledge with these 125 trivia questions and answers!
