When Katie Ledecky—four-time Olympian, 14-time medalist—found out she would be carrying the American flag at Olympics in Paris 2024 closing ceremonies, she was moved to tears.
“It’s such an honor,” Ledecky said. Teammate Bobby Finke gave her the good news Thursday. “He FaceTimed me to tell me the news, and I started crying. And it’s really just such an honor to represent this team with so many great performances this week from all sports.”
It’s an honor Team USAs most decorated female Olympian will share with men’s quad rower Nick Mead, who was part of the team that ended a 64-year medal drought for the US
The closing ceremony at the Stade de France will be the first that Ledecky will attend.
The Bethesda, Maryland, native had an impressive performance at the Games, coming home with four medals, win gold in 800m and 1500m freestyle, silver in 4x200m relay and bronze in 400m freestyle. And, she said, she’s “not done yet.” She plans to keep training — and keep pushing her teammates, too — ahead The 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
“When LA comes in four years, we want to be better,” Ledecky said. “We want to be better than we were here in Paris. And I think it’s definitely doable. We’ll have the home crowd in front of us and we want to put on a good show for them.”
While Ledecky admits she never saw herself as an Olympian growing up, she knew right away how much she loved being in the pool.
“I started swimming for the Palisades Porpoises summer league swim team when I was 6 years old,” Ledecky said. “What made me love the sport in the first place, the Sharks and Minnows games after the swim meets, the barbecues, the friends that I have, I still have, to this day.”
And to young swimmers starting their journey, she said, “Just keep swimming and have as much fun as you can with the sport.”