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2024 Olympics: Swimmer Katie Ledecky Reacts to Making History in Paris
For Katie Ledecky, every day is, quite literally, training day.
Yep, the nine-time gold medalist considers a rest day to be, as she told E! News in an exclusive interview, “a day when I only have one practice.”
So, it’s safe to say she has her training regimen—not to mention the food that fuels her—down to a science.
“I usually have morning practice at six in the morning,” Katie explained, “and so I'm up around five. At that point I'll usually just have a quick snack, like a banana and some quick oatmeal.”
After she climbs out of the pool, she has a weight session, so it’s not until 9:30 or 10 “when I’ll have a bigger meal,” she continued. “That two egg omelet, scrambled eggs, or hard-boiled eggs, with some veggies and fruit and toast.”
And that’s just the morning session.
“I'll have a late lunch—larger snack—before my afternoon swim practice,” she detailed of prepping for her second round of workouts, “and then after some practice, I'll have dinner.”
When all is said and done, Katie revealed she puts in “about 25 to 30 hours a week in the pool and in the gym.”
However, the four-time Olympian’s training plan isn’t just physical. The other aspects of getting in the right headspace are “just as important” to Katie, who likes to dive into the science of what’s required to remain in peak condition.
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“I actually really enjoy those hours outside of the pool and the weight room,” she noted, “because I feel like I'm always learning something about nutrition and sleep and recovery. I've tried to really hone in on those things as I've gotten older over the years.”
And on those rare days where Katie calls it a day after a single round in the pool?
“I'll focus on trying to get a nap in, just get my feet up,” she shared. “Maybe read a book, watch some TV, something like that. Just kind of take my mind off of swimming but maintain my good habits throughout the day that I know will help me for the next workout.”
That mindset is what’s kept the 28-year-old on her A-game. In fact, this past fall she recently broke her own record and became the first woman to swim 1650m in under 15 minutes. And though she’s well aware that all eyes are on her every time she sets foot on the pool deck, she’s simply focused on meeting—or exceeding—her own expectations.
“I think just going into every meet, I'm trying to be as confident as I can be,” she told E!. “With the training that I put in, reminding myself of all that work that I've put in, all those habits—all those things away from the pool and the gym as well—that should make me feel confident going into each race.”
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One competition she’s already pumping herself up for is the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. While that’s a little more than two years away, she considers it “right around the corner.”
So, as she looks ahead at her fifth Olympic Games, she’s keeping busy with her packed training schedule and meets. That way she can “be as prepared as I can be for LA and just kind of gear up in the training and in the excitement level as we get closer and closer.”
Never one to, uh, scramble to get herself prepared for anything, Katie keeps her nutrition on point. And part of cracking that code is keeping a carton of Eggland’s Best eggs on hand.
“They were always my mom's go-to at the grocery store,” she admitted, “and ever since I've been cooking for myself and doing my own grocery shopping, they've been my go-to as well.”
Though Katie not taking cues from fellow record-breaking swimmer Michael Phelps and consuming eight eggs in a day, she does put quite a few in her metaphorical basket. Sitting down with a plate of the protein-rich pick has long “been a good staple” because of all they have to offer.
“It's got really great nutrition and definitely helps me recover from my workouts and helps me get ready for my next workouts,” she explained. “I know I can rely on the nutrition that eggs provide.”
As Katie prepares to continue her history-making run in the pool in 2028, keep reading to see how she and her fellow Olympians made history at the 2024 Paris Olympics…
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Katie Ledecky
After notching a gold in 1500m freestyle, a silver in 4x200 freestyle relay and a bronze in 400m freestyle at the Paris Games, the American swimmer became the most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history.
With a career total of 13 medals, she is also the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history.
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Léon Marchand
Marchand Mania was at an all-time high during the men's 200m breaststroke final, when the French swimmer set an Olympic record of 2:05.85. The impressive time snagged Marchand his third gold medal at the Paris Games.
Manuel Reino/Shutterstock
Jessica Fox
By winning a gold medal in K1, the canoeist became the first Australian athlete to win four consecutive Olympic medals in the same event—having taken home bronze at Tokyo 2020 and at Rio de Janeiro 2016, as well as silver in London 2012.
Her C1 gold medal victory three days later made her the most-decorated Olympic slalom paddler in the world.
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Pan Zhanle
The Chinese swimmer set a new world record in men's 100m freestyle with a gold medal-worthy time of 46.40 seconds, a full four tenths from his previous record.
Ryan Browne/Shutterstock
Cassandre Beaugrand
After braving the Seine, as well as streets of Paris on bike and foot, the Olympian claimed France's first gold medal in triathlon with a time of 1:54:55.
ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images
Adriana Ruano Oliva
Once an aspiring Olympic gymnast, the sports shooter notched Guatemala's first-ever gold medal when she scored 45 points in the women's trap event.
JEROME BROUILLET/AFP via Getty Images
Gabriel Medina
The Brazilian surfer set a new Olympic record—and went viral with this photo—when he came out of a huge barrel wave with a 9.90, the highest single-wave score in the sport since surfing made its debut at 2020 Tokyo Games.
YOAN VALAT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Jose Torres Gil
With his golden win in the men's park final, this BMX rider from Argentina rode his way into the history books by scoring the country's first individual medal in the sport of cycling.
In addition, his medal was Argentina's first in the 2024 Paris Olympics and the nation's first gold in any sport since 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
Manuel Reino/Shutterstock
Simone Biles
She really is the GOAT! Biles became the most decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history after winning her eighth medal—her fifth gold—at the women's gymnastics team all-around final.
Biles went on to win another gold in the individual all-around event.
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images
Italy Women's Gymnastics Team
But Biles wasn't the only gymnast who made history at the women's all-around final: Angela Andreoli, Alice D'Amato, Manila Esposito, Elisa Iorio, Giorgia Villa nabbed Team Italy its first medal in the event since 1928 with their silver win.
Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Brazil Women's Gymnastics Team
Rebeca Andrade, Jade Barbosa, Lorrane Oliveira, Flavia Saraiva and Julia Soares also made history on the podium, winning a bronze for Team Brazil's first-ever medal in women's gymnastics team all-around.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
Manu Bhaker
Just three days into the Paris Games, the sharpshooter entered the history books as the first Indian athlete to win multiple medals in a single edition of the Olympics since the nation gained independence in 1947.
She notched a bronze in the women's 10m air pistol—making her the first female shooter from India to win a medal at any Olympics—before landing another bronze alongside teammate Sarabjot Singh in the 10m air rifle, the country's first-ever shooting team medal.
Michael Steele/Getty Images
U.S. Women's Rugby Team
With eight seconds left on the clock, Alex Sedrick caught a pass and scored as time ran out, leading to a conversion that resulted in a 14-12 game against Australia.
The dramatic victory gave the Women's Eagles a bronze, Team USA's first-ever Olympic medal in the rugby.
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David Popovici
The Olympian made history as the first Romanian man to win a gold medal for swimming when he took home the top prize in the 200m freestyle event.
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Ryan Murphy
Just call it an American victory story! In scoring a bronze on July 29, the Team USA swimmer became the first man to win a 100m backstroke medal in three consecutive Olympics since 1972.
The prize was the latest addition to his already-impressive medal collection, which includes a bronze from Tokyo 2020 and a gold from the Rio de Janeiro Games 2016 for the same event.
FRANCK ROBICHON/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Mollie O'Callaghan
The Australian swimmer set an Olympic record with a time of 1:53.27 in women’s 200m freestyle, beating out defending champ and teammate Ariarne Titmus for the gold.
Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Hillary Heron
No other gymnast except Simone Biles has ever performed a double layout with a half-twist—a difficult move aptly dubbed "Biles I"—at the Olympics until Heron came along.
The Panamanian athlete successfully landed it while competing against the stunt's namesake during the gymnastics qualifier.
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Christa Deguchi
Team Canada scored its first gold medal in judo thanks to Deguchi, who defeated Republic of Korea's Huh Mimi in a heated July 29 match.
RONALD WITTEK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Gretchen Walsh
In her first-ever Summer Games, the American swimmer broke the Olympic record in the 100m butterfly semifinal with a time of 55.38 seconds.
Christina Pahnke - sampics/Getty Images
South Sudan Men's Basketball Team
South Sudan—the youngest country in the world—made its Olympics debut on July 28, with their men's basketball team playing against Puerto Rico.
The South Sudan Bright Stars won their first-ever Olympic game with a final score of 90-79.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Nino Salukvadze
The sharpshooter made Olympic history as the world's first and only athlete to compete in 10 consecutive Summer Games when she pulled the trigger at the women's 10m air pistol qualifers on July 27.
The three-time medalist made her Olympic debut back at 1988 Seoul.
CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock
Ahmad Abu Al-Soud
For the first time in Olympic history, Jordan was represented in men's gymnastic when Abu Al-Soud competed on the pommel horse. He finished with a score of 12.466 during the qualification round.
Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Lais Najjar
Syria also saw its first male gymnast compete in the Olympics during the Paris Summer Games, with Najjar raising the bar in the all-around event.
Daniela Porcelli/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
U.S. Men's Gymnastics Team
Stephen Nedoroscik, Frederick Richard, Brody Malone, Paul Juda and Asher Hong won Team USA's first medal in men's gymnastics in 16 years, earning a bronze.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The basketball player made history as the first Black flagbearer for Greece during the Opening Ceremony.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Quincy Wilson
The track and field star, who turned 16 in January, "etched his name" in history, according to Team USA, when he became the youngest male athlete to make 4x400m relay squad.
Kyle Okita/CSM/Shutterstock
Hezly Rivera
As for the youngest athlete in any sport to make Team USA? That'll be Rivera, who turned 16 just weeks before she was selected to join the women's gymnastics team.
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