Katie Ledecky: The Warrior

Katie Ledecky, aka Shark in the Water, is the most decorated competitive swimmer in the USA’s swimming history. Katie’s six individual Olympic gold medals, 14 individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships (WAC), and 22 overall medals at the WAC are records in women’s swimming. She has broken fourteen world records so far in her career. Katie started swimming at the age of six, influenced by her brother, Michael, and her mother, who swam for the University of New Mexico. Katie set the American and US Open record in the 500-yard freestyle and the national high school record in 200-yard freestyle, during her high school years. She graduated from Stanford University in 2021 with the psychology major. Katie was the youngest American participant at the 2012 London Olympic Games as 15 years old and stunned the whole world by winning the gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle. During the 2016-17 NCQAA season, Katie set 12 NCAA records and nine American records as a freshman for Stanford University. Katie won the best athlete in women’s sports at The ESPYS 2021. “I represent one of the few sports that is also a really important life skill, so I want to encourage all the parents to make sure your kids learn how to swim,” Katie said. “Our planet is 70% water, so it is important.” She featured in TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” list for 2016.