"I'd love to, that would be fun"- When Katie Ledecky expressed desire to compete against male swimmers

The American swimming sensation Katie Ledecky once spoke about her eagerness to compete against her male counterparts. She jokingly said that participating in the same event as men 'would be fun.'

Katie Ledecky has been the face of women's swimming for years now. Her ten Olympic medals and 21 world titles speak volumes about her mastery in the pool. Ledecky is also the world record holder in the 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle and previously held the 400-meter freestyle world record.

Katie Ledecky was the recipient of many global accolades as well, including 2017 Sportsperson of the Year, 2017 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year, 2022 ESPY Best Female Athlete, and many others.

Ledecky's dominance in the pool is so pronounced that the swimmer also has the most world championship titles under her belt, including male swimmers. Talking about male swimmers, Ledecky claimed in an interview with swimoutlet.com in 2020 that she would love to compete against them. She was quoted as saying:

"I’d love to, that’d be fun. I’ve done that at a couple of meets when I was back on the east coast. I’d love that opportunity. I’ll have to talk to some meet organizers."

Katie Ledecky is currently eyeing her fourth consecutive summer games participation at the Paris Olympics in July this year.

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Katie Ledecky planning to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Katie Ledecky at the TYR Pro Swim Series San Antonio - Day 4

Katie Ledecky competed in the 2012 London Olympics for the first time and won the 800-meter freestyle title. In the subsequent quadrennial event in Rio in 2016, she created history with four golds and one silver. Her summer games medal cabinet kept getting better as she clinched two golds and two silvers in Tokyo 2020.

The 27-year-old swimming prodigy will be representing the United States on French soil in 65 days. However, the latter event won't be the culmination of her Olympic campaign, as she is also eyeing the 2028 competitions scheduled in Los Angeles. In a conversation with NBC Olympics and Paralympics, Ledecky confirmed that the LA event is on her radar, as she stated:

"I definitely at this point am planning on going through (LA) 2028... whether I compete in one event, multiple events, a relay, whatever."

However, the LA event still has a lot of time left, and Katie Ledecky has yet to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The swimmer will have to participate in the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials happening in June.