{"id":35420,"date":"2024-05-10T09:05:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-10T13:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=35420"},"modified":"2024-08-05T09:28:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T13:28:48","slug":"olympic-swimmer-katie-ledecky-calls-representing-the-u-s-a-true-honor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2024\/05\/olympic-swimmer-katie-ledecky-calls-representing-the-u-s-a-true-honor.html","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Swimmer Katie Ledecky Calls Representing the U.S. a ‘True Honor’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"katie<\/a>
Salty View\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Update: Since this article was published, Katie Ledecky extended her record as the most-decorated U.S. female Olympian\u2014and the second-most decorated U.S. Olympian of all time, behind Michael Phelps\u2014after she won gold in the 800-meter freestyle final, marking her 14th Olympic medal.<\/em><\/p>\n

Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky says it\u2019s been a \u201ctrue honor\u201d to represent the United States at the Olympics.\u00a0She told Fox News, \u201cSomething I don\u2019t take for granted is getting that opportunity, and I\u2019m excited to hopefully have the chance in a couple of months. We have our Olympic trials in June first, so I have to get through that. Swimming in the United States is super competitive, so even just qualifying for a U.S. team is a huge honor. And then, once you\u2019re named to that team, the expectations are high. And we all want to bring home some medals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ledecky continued, \u201cWe take a lot of pride representing Team USA. I have a good feeling about how Team USA is going to [do] this summer, both in swimming and in all the other sports as well. I think it\u2019ll be a great summer.\u201d Ledecky is considered one of the world\u2019s greatest swimmers, with seven Olympic gold medals and three silver under her belt. Despite all her success, the swimmer says she\u2019s ready for some competition at this year\u2019s Olympic trials.\u00a0She shared, \u201cI think the world of swimming is super competitive right now. It\u2019s not just the United States and Australia. There are amazing swimmers from all over the world. Certainly, the U.S. and Australia have been top nations for many, many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The swimmer continued, \u201cThere\u2019s some really competitive relay competitions between the two countries. But really, I don\u2019t think we can count out anyone at this point from around the world. I certainly have my eyes on lots of different swimmers from around the world. I\u2019m mainly focused on my own performance and what I can do to help Team USA.\u201d She previously spoke about how exciting it is to see an increased focus on women\u2019s sports and athletes,\u00a0telling<\/a>\u00a0USA Today, \u201cI\u2019m always flipping through the channels, just seeing the number of women\u2019s games and meets on TV. I\u2019m seeing more and more of it. It\u2019s an exciting time, just getting more eyes on women\u2019s sports and having some really great stars show what they can do, just showcasing what women can do at that level.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Katie Ledecky (@katieledecky)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n