After putting in 15,500 meters in the pool Monday, the world’s most decorated female swimmer and Gainesville resident Katie Ledecky visited the Cade Museum for a panel discussion on her 2024 New York Times bestselling memoir, “Just Add Water.”  

With 21 world championship medals and nine Olympic gold medals, Ledecky is the only female swimmer to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the same event. She moved to Gainesville in 2021 to swim under UF coach Anthony Nesty—who was named Team USA’s coach for the 2024 Paris Olympic games— and alongside teammates such as Olympian Caeleb Dressel. Ledecky is also a volunteer coach for UF’s swim team. 

Gainesville writer, The Lynx bookstore owner and former swimmer Lauren Groff moderated the discussion in front of over 250 young swimmers, coaches and fans packed shoulder-to-shoulder in the museum’s rotunda. Audience members walked away with signed hard copies of Ledecky’s book and personal insights into the champion’s passion for swimming and what makes someone world-class in what they do.  

P.K. Yonge sophomore and Gator Swim Club member Molly Adams introduced Ledecky and Groff, calling the responsibility an honor to do for someone whose accomplishments in the pool had redefined the sport.  

Adams reminded everyone that while the majority of 15-year-olds are doing homework and learning how to drive, at age 15 Ledecky won her first gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. 

“What’s truly remarkable is Katie’s consistency and perseverance,” Adams said. “She’s competed in four Olympic Games, and she continues to push the limits of what is possible. Her relentless pursuit of improvement inspires young swimmers all around the globe, including me, showing them that greatness is not just about raw talent. It’s about hard work, dedication and a never-give-up attitude.” 

Out of all the things that make Ledecky who she is, Groff’s questions dove deeper into what makes her extraordinary at what she does both in and out of the pool. Ledecky said it takes a book to answer, and “Just Add Water” is her attempt all the way down to the table of contents to do so. 

“Many of the chapters are named after people, family members, coaches,” Ledecky said. “There’s some places like Stanford and Gainesville and Palisades, which was the summer league swim team that I started on in Maryland. So really I give a lot of credit to the community that I have around me.” 

Ledecky talked about growing up in Bethesda, Maryland when her older brother Michael got her into swimming when she was six years old. The siblings tried a summer league together and eventually joined the year-round team. 

Ledecky said she learned from Michael’s drive to work hard in both the pool and classroom, and their relationship was a collaboration of helping each other improve; even as Ledecky got fast enough to challenge Michael in his own events and beat his teammates. 

Still competing as a multi-sport athlete in basketball, soccer and swimming, Ledecky said breaking her arm in fourth grade after getting too competitive playing basketball was a turning point in her swimming career. 

“I put a plastic bag over my cast and kicked for three, four weeks, however long I had the cast on,” she said. “And that made me realize I’ve got to protect my swimming. Anyone that watches me swim today, we know that I don’t like to kick.” 

Ledecky also credited both her parents for supporting her dedication to swimming with early morning rides to practice and meets, and for holding her to high academic standards through her collegiate career swimming for Stanford University without ever putting pressure on her performance. 

Her mother Mary Gen was “one of the first beneficiaries of Title IX,” Ledecky said, after transferring to the University of New Mexico to swim on scholarship following the law’s passing in 1972. 

“I always look up to my mom, she was the first one to teach me to feel comfortable in the water,” Ledecky said. “I always remember when I do have these opportunities that I have now, it’s because there are so many women that didn’t have that opportunity, and it’s so great to see women competing in college and in all different sports, and especially in swimming, just to see how far we’ve come.” 

Ledecky shared that goal setting has always been a driving force in her career and keeps her loving the sport. She sets “want times,” or the goal times she wants to achieve in a race, and evaluates how close her performance was after each meet. The closer she gets to the time or the more she beats it, the more ambitious she sets the next number. 

Ledecky said that even when a task before her seems daunting, such as winning an Olympic gold medal at 15-years old, she’s able to visualize herself winning because of her coach’s belief in her and the training that’s prepared her. 

“I think the toughness comes from the training that I put in, that my teammates and coaches have put in around me,” Ledecky said. “I’ve continued to learn each year that I’ve competed. I’ve grown more and more confident in my routine, in my training, in just my process. I think everyone has a process that they go through, and you can take a lot of comfort in that process when you’re at the biggest stage.” 

For Ledecky, that routine starts with eating plain pasta with olive oil and parmesan cheese three hours before a race, then stretching and swimming a warmup two hours before the race with some strokes at goal pace. She puts on her racing suit for a few last laps before heading to the waiting room with the other athletes. Ledecky races, talks to media, warms down, evaluates the performance with her coach and goes to bed to get ready for the next day of racing. 

Ledecky is also required to undergo 25 doping tests every year. She has to notify officials of her whereabouts at all times by checking into an app on her phone and is monitored while going to the bathroom during tests. But she said even though the logistics can be frustrating to accommodate, maintaining respect in the sport for her work and for her competitors is worth it. 

“I love competing and having that camaraderie among athletes from all over the world,” she said. “Just being able to walk into the Olympic Village and be in line behind somebody from halfway around the world, or be on the bus next to them and we trade pins…it’s a neat thing when the world can kind of come together in those moments.” 

Ledecky said balance in life outside of swimming is key for maintaining her passion for the sport and is what she encourages young swimmers to prioritize as well. 

When she’s not in the pool, Ledecky enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying new restaurants and going to Gator football games. She’s currently investing in STEM programs for students and anti-drowning initiatives around the country. After narrating her own memoir, Ledecky now prefers to listen to audiobooks on her way to practice. 

Although she is training for the 2028 Olympics, Ledecky said she knows she’ll have to hang up the racing suit at some point. She hopes to start a family one day and maybe pursue a master’s degree. But ultimately, she hopes whatever she pursues will continue impacting people in her community, around the country and across the world. 

“I have a hard time falling asleep on Sunday’s I get so excited for Monday morning,” Ledecky said of training. “That’s a really beautiful thing and something I don’t take for granted. I think if you find that [passion], set some goals for yourself and don’t let anything limit you. Just know that the sky’s the limit and you can really do some special things if you find something like that.”