Since winning her first gold on her Olympic debut in 2012, Katie Ledecky has turned out to be a prominent figure in the world of swimming. The American swimmer has quickly risen through the ranks, becoming the most successful female swimmer in US history. Her achievements speak for themselves as she is ranked No. 1 in SwimSwam's 2022 rankings.
The 2024 Olympics meet is set to be conducted in the beautiful City of Love, Paris. While there is no doubt that the US will be sending a strong contingent of athletes in the hopes of continuing their ultra-successful Olympic run, it remains to be seen who these athletes are.
Katie Ledecky is targeting Paris in 2024
In her own words, speaking to PEOPLE after her legendary campaign in Tokyo, Ledecky had this to say:
"Everyone wants to know about the next one, and so I can say with confidence that I'm definitely targeting Paris in 2024 ... You can ask me about 2028 in 2024, but I can say with pretty good confidence that I'm going through 2024. It's exciting."
Her confidence is something to be adored. It is clearly a reflection of all the hard work and time she puts into the sport. So, if we were to go by nothing but her word, we could say that it is almost certain that the public can expect the American's return to the Olympics.
To understand whether Katie will be heading to Paris for the 2024 Olympics, we need some basic understanding of the processes associated with qualification. Swimmers first need to qualify for the Olympic Trials at the US Open. After going through to the qualifiers, athletes will need to meet the set Olympic Qualification Time (OQT) and be in the top two positions to qualify for an event at the Olympics.
Having been ranked No. 1 in the world, Ledecky's chances of qualifying for Paris are quite high. She is clearly the favorite and is expected to breeze through the US Opens and the qualifiers for the 400-, 800- and 1500-meter freestyle events.
Therefore, considering her words and the obvious evidence of her abilities, we can confidently say that we will see Katie in Paris.
How is Ledecky targeting 2024?
After clearly stating that retirement is not even on her mind, and that she is targeting Paris and possibly Los Angeles in 2028 too, she backed up her talk with action. In late september 2021, Katie moved to Florida to train with the University of Florida team under the guidance of legendary coach Anthony Nesty. Nesty is known for his work with long-distance swimmers and leads a team of world-class male swimmers, including Bobby Finke, a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Although the average age of an Olympic swimmer is 21 (lowest among all Olympic sports), Ledecky at 25 is all set to make her way to the 2024 Olympic games in Paris. There are no doubts in her mind and people can't wait to see her back.
