Kitty Ledecky

Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky (English: Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky, March 17, 1997 -) is an American female swimmer. She has won 9 Olympic gold medals and 23 World Championship gold medals, making her the most female swimmer. Ledecky won a total of 9 gold medals and 14 medals in four Olympic Games. She is the most decorated American female athlete and female swimmer in Olympic history. She is also the female athlete with the most gold medals (tied with Larissa Latnina) and the athlete with the fifth most medals. Ledecky holds a record of 18 gold medals in individual events at the World Aquatics Championships. She has broken world records 17 times. She is the world record holder in the women's 800m freestyle (long pool) and 1500m (long pool and short pool). She is also the former world record holder in the women's freestyle 400m short pool and 800m short pool. She is widely regarded as the best female swimmer in history. In 2012, at the age of 15, she won the 800-meter freestyle gold medal at the London Olympics as a dark horse. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Ledecky won 4 gold medals and 1 silver, setting two world records and becoming the first swimmer since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to win Olympic gold medals in the 200, 400 and 800 meters freestyle at the same time. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Ledecky became the most decorated female athlete in U.S. history. At the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, Ledecky once again defended the women's 800-meter freestyle gold medal, becoming the first swimmer to win seven consecutive championships in the same event. In 2024, Ledecky was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Joe Biden.