Nine-time Olympic gold medalist and Team USA powerhouse Katie Ledecky credits her training in Florida with helping her prepare for the world stage.
Ledecky will leave Paris with a four-medal haul, bringing her career total up to 14. She won gold in the 800m and 1500m freestyles, silver in the 4x200m relay and bronze in the 400m free, becoming the most-decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time in the process.
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The humble champion spoke to NBC6 after winning her fourth consecutive gold medal in the 800 meter freestyle at the Paris Olympics.
LEDECKY IN PARIS
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Read their conversation here:
NBC6: You have nine gold medals, several that you're wearing now. Is there one that means the most to you, one of the events in particular?
Ledecky: I think here in Paris, the one that meant the most to me was the 800 free. Just being able to four-peat in that event was pretty special. So, yeah, each one has a different story to it, different meaning, but I'm really happy with how all of my events went this week in Paris.
NBC6: After Tokyo, you started training at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Tell me about the decision to go there and how that has led to your success.
Ledecky: Yeah, well, I had five really great years at Stanford, had some amazing time swimming, both collegiately and professionally, at Stanford, won a bunch of medals in Tokyo, and after Tokyo, I had already completed my degree at Stanford, and so was feeling an itch to get back closer to home, and there's a really great training group down at the University of Florida now. So, been training in Gainesville and really grateful for the coaches and teammates for pushing me and helping me achieve what I did here in Paris.
NBC6: And we saw some of that last night. You were cheering so loud for Bobby Finke. What's it like to be in the stands cheering a teammate on?
Ledecky: It's always incredible when you get to witness a world record and when it's your teammate that you train with every day, it's even more special, and it was just amazing to watch him go out there and seize the moment. You know, each lap he just built upon his lead and got that record. It was really special to witness that and see all the work that he put in to get there.
NBC6: And speaking of Stanford, we had the Stanford tree over here in case nobody knew what that was. It's a great tree. Tell us about the mascot.
Ledecky: Yeah, well, the Stanford tree is always there to support the Stanford athletes, and so it's really fitting that the Stanford tree is here in Paris cheering us on.
