Katie Ledecky appears at a tech conference. Learn how to manage your career steps and goals
On the second day of MetLife’s 2024 Triangle Tech The conversation covered all four of Ledecky’s Olympic appearances, and the distance legend spoke candidly about the challenges of juggling swimming at a world-class level while managing high school and later college. Ta.
Here’s what Ledecky discussed:
goal setting
Katie Ledecky of the United States competes in the women’s 400-meter freestyle swimming final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning the bronze medal at La Défense Arena in Paris, France, on July 27, 2024.
When you’re as successful as Katie Ledecky, setting new goals can be a difficult experience to stay hungry for. Ledecky has been open about his goals throughout his career, and now he detailed his goal-setting process leading up to the 2016 Olympics.
Two years after Rio, Ledecky set a precise time goal for his event and wrote it on the pull buoy he uses every day. She explained how writing those goals down gave her the strength to physically support herself through all of her daily practices. In Rio, Ledecky won individual gold medals in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle. Added two relay medals. Once she reached her goal time on the first two events, it became a foregone conclusion in her mind that she would reach even more time on her final swim.
Stand up even if you run out
Because of the types of goals Ledecky sets and her athletic qualities, she sometimes falls short of achieving them. Describing it in STEM terms, she described how she learns from each experience.
“Set a hypothetical goal, then create a plan and give steps to get there,” she said. “Then you come to a conclusion and reset your assumptions (or goals).”
By choosing to learn from each performance, Ledecky continually looks to the future.
Now a Florida Gator, Ledecky has been training with Anthony Nesti for three years. Nesty himself is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and continues the Gator tradition of high-yardage training following the retirement of Greg Troy. Even if you are the best player in the world, there are days when you have a bad day in practice.
After more than a decade on the world stage and 50 international medals under his belt, Ledecky remains extremely grounded. With all the expectations and external stressors that come with being an Olympian, she focuses on the factors she can control. While her goals and training are important, she also emphasized maintaining a life outside of the water.
Additionally, world-class athletes come with world-class support systems. For Ledecky, even before she won gold at the Olympics, her family was her biggest support. Support was always given with love. Since her international debut, her family has competed in every world championship and Olympics (with the exception of the Tokyo Games, which were delayed due to the coronavirus).
disruptive advantage
Photo credit: Giorgio Scala/DeepBlueMedia
The theme of this year’s Triangle Tech X Conference was “Disruption Advantage.” Confusion usually has a negative connotation. However, the purpose of this conference was to show that revolutionaries from different fields are “disrupting” for the better. Ledecky has been transforming the sport of swimming for 12 years. She shocked the sporting world by surprising Rebecca Adlington and winning gold in the 800m freestyle final at the 2012 London Olympics.
In the free final of the London 800 race, race commentators did not take Ledecky into account. When she took the early lead, she was ignored as an inexperienced young athlete who would have been caught by the veterans. But her lead widened. Even though his world record was threatened, Ledecky won the gold medal, determined not to become a one-hit wonder.
In 2024, Ledecky disrupted swimming in a different way. The general idea is that the younger you are, the better your chances of becoming an Olympic gold medal long-distance swimmer. Now, Ledecky is now the oldest and youngest athlete in Olympic history to win a gold medal in the 800m free. If she wins in 2028 at the age of 31, she will be the oldest 800m freestyle winner by 10 years. She has changed things in everything she has done.
How STEM helped Ledecky’s career
For 14-time Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky, she doesn’t need to make any major changes to improve. As technology has advanced, swimming has been able to advance alongside it. Analysis of race footage has become standard at all levels of swimming and has greatly improved learning capabilities.
The ability to analyze entry into the water, race splits, and stroke form at slow motion speeds all contribute to improvement. Ledecky fell in love with the analytical side of the sport from an early age, setting goals and measuring the distance to them with each swim.
When you’re winning as frequently as Katie Ledecky, finding a way to reinvent yourself can be a difficult balance. Ledecky is a six-time world champion in the 800-meter freestyle, but it’s clear she forgets to track this metric when considering her year-to-year approach. As her swimming career has progressed, she has been timed at various stages of her life.
Ledecky outside the pool
Katie Ledecky of the United States is preparing to run in the 400 meters. Women’s freestyle during the 2024 Paris Olympics at La Defense Arena on July 27, 2024 in Paris, France.
Following the theme of life outside of swimming, the topic of what Ledecky likes to do for fun came up. At Stanford University, Ledecky majored in psychology. She branched out and took classes in computer science, communications, and anything that looked interesting. Constantly finding new ways to reinvent and reflect has helped her see her swimming time in a new light.
One of the things she enjoys most outside of the water is the friendships swimming has brought into her life. Chris von Salza, the 1960 Olympic champion and Hall of Famer, shares Ledecky’s Stanford ties. Over the years, Ledecky and the now 80-year-old Bay Area native have developed a strong friendship.
Von Salza didn’t have the opportunities that athletes like Ledecky have enjoyed. In the 1960s, Stanford University did not have a women’s swimming program, so von Salza retired at just 18 years old. Ledecky, on the other hand, is 27 years old and still carving a new path in the sports world. The four-time Olympian now credits her chances to past generations and is passionate about increasing the opportunities for young swimmers around the world to follow in Ledecky’s footsteps.
Katie Ledecky 2012 vs. Katie Ledecky 2024
What advice would Katie Ledecky give her younger self?
As a 15-year-old in 2012, Ledecky had no shortage of veterans to advise him during his first Olympics. Michael Phelps was retiring for the first time. Natalie Coughlin was competing in her fourth Olympics. Matt Grevers led the U.S. backstroke. Dana Vollmer set a world record en route to winning Olympic gold. The legacy featured on Team USA in London provided the perfect education for future leaders.
Now a veteran, Ledecky enjoys the leadership role. She always advises young athletes to enjoy their sport to the fullest. Capture the joy swimming brings and take advantage of it.
Will Ledecky be able to swim in 2028?
Ledecky will turn 31 in 2028, but she has her sights set on her fifth Olympics. With that goal in mind, she takes things year after year. Her legacy as one of the greatest swimmers in history is secured and she has nothing left to prove.
In the end, Ledecky ended the great interview with some moving words. For 12 years, she has been reinventing swimming at a fundamental level. Every time it seems incapable of breaking new records or achieving new goals, she surprises the world. It’s clear that her career has set a course that will inspire future generations for years to come.
