The Untold Truth Of The Olympic Swimmer

Ledecky qualified for the London Olympics at 15 — the youngest U.S. athlete, said Hollywoodlife. She won a gold medal during the 800-freestyle event, coming close (8:14.63) to breaking world record holder Janet Evans' 8:16.22 time, reported Swim Swam. 

She attended an all girls' high school, Stone Ridge of the Sacred Heart, where she broke all its swimming team records, except the 100-yard breaststroke, reported Ranker. While there she also trained with the Nation's Capital Swim Club first under Yuri Suguiyama and then coach Bruce Gemmell, who prepared her for the 2016 Olympics in Rio (pictured above) (via The Famous People). During her formative years Ledecky maintained the same disciplined training schedule, said ESPN: a 4:05 a.m. wake-up; consumption of a toasted peanut butter sandwich and a banana before practice, followed by 90 minutes of swimming; then another five-mile swim once school finished.

At the Rio Olympics she won four gold medals, broke the 800-meter freestyle world record, and at 19, still remained the youngest on the team, said the New York Post. "Katie does not have all the tools that some others have when it comes to technique," NBC swimming analyst Rowdy Gaines said to The Post. "What she does have is an incredible feel for the water, from her fingertips to her elbow, and uses that as a paddle, which others cannot tap into. In other words, she was built to be one with the water where others are adapting to be in the water."

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