Before she could fully dry off and savor becoming the first American female swimmer to earn nine Olympic gold medals, Katie Ledecky was asked to turn her attention to 2028 and whether she would seek to compete in a fifth consecutive Games.
Ledecky will be 31 then, an age that’s considered advanced by most swimming metrics, but it’s hard not to wonder if accepted norms really apply to someone whose 14 Olympic medals are tied for fifth-most all-time and who is only the second swimmer and sixth athlete to earn gold in the same event in four consecutive Games, as Ledecky has in the 800-meter freestyle.
“I don’t feel like I’m close to being finished in the sport yet,” Ledecky said after setting an Olympic record in the 1,500 free last Wednesday in Paris. “I’d love to continue on, and just seeing the kind of support that the French athletes are getting here, I think all the U.S. athletes are thinking about how cool that could be in Los Angeles (site of the 2028 Games) having the home crowd. So, it would be amazing to be able to compete there.”
GO DEEPER
Katie Ledecky, her Olympic legacy secure, seems to have so much left in the tank
Such an occasion could make for a Disney-like ending to what has been a sublime career, with deafening cheers and swaying flags serving as…
