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Team USA swimmer Katie Ledecky has already accomplished more than any other American female in Olympics history. Her 14 total medals and 9 gold medals are both the most in American history for any woman.
She had a great 2024 Summer Olympics, winning two golds, a silver, and bronze to give her that aforementioned medal tally. But, at 27 years old and already having competed in four Olympic Games, there was some doubt as to whether she would continue on to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Katie Ledecky was one of two Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony flag-bearers for the United States, joining rower Nick Reed. That gave Closing Ceremonies hosts Mike Tirico and Jimmy Fallon a chance to ask her if she was continuing on to a home-nation Olympics in 2028.
While NBC has not posted the officially licensed footage of the interaction, Katie Ledecky gave a resounding yes when it came to competing in Los Angeles 2028. And, why wouldn’t she?
With 14 medals as it stands, that puts her four back of the all-time record for any woman in Olympic history, held by Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina. One more gold medal would give her ten, which would be the most of any woman in history and second all-time behind Michael Phelps’ unbreakable 23 Olympic gold medals.
Both Latynina’s total medal count and another gold medal seem definitely attainable for Katie Ledecky. Yes, international stars like Australia’s Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh are catching up to her in her shorter events like the 400m and 800m Frestyle. But, she won the 800m Freestyle by a fairly comfortable margin, and the 1500m Freestyle remains to be an event that no one can even come close to her in, winning by over ten seconds in Paris.
It’s not easy to get your body to peak every four years, and it gets even harder as we age. But, it would be silly to bet against Katie Ledecky having a great Olympics in Los Angeles in four years as one of the biggest stars
Getty Image / Maddie Meyer
in the sports world.