#WeKeepPlaying: Katie Ledecky’s advice to the next generation of athletes
Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky reveals that she never imagined she’d reach such an elite level in the pool as she responds to a young fan in Yahoo Sports’ live broadcast #WeKeepPlaying
Video Transcript
- So talk to me about other aspects of this, in terms of, when you talk to other Olympians and they know that the Olympics are postponed, what do they look forward to when it's able to finally come back and they can do what they've been wanting to do for these past four years?
KATIE LEDECKY: Right, well, for swimming, we know that our Olympic trials will be held next year in June. They just announced those dates a couple days ago. So I'm happy to have something to start shooting for. But we still have a lot of meets that we want to have between now and then, and we want to resume normal training. So it's kind of hard right now to plan things out, but we're doing the best that we can right now, and you can only control what you can control. So just take it day by day and try to win each day, really.
- That is a message. You can only control what you can control, and that's arguably your reaction. And you've been so poised during this entire time, so I appreciate you. Talk to me about some new habits or possibly some hobbies that you've been able to dive into during this time of quarantine.
KATIE LEDECKY: Well, I've been very lucky. I'm actually still a student at Stanford, and so I just started some spring quarter classes this past week. And it's been really great to keep my mind active and really continue towards my degree as well and do something very productive during this time.
- Yeah, productive. Ladies, I'm sure everyone on this panel, because we all like to be productive, are still being very productive. With that being said, Katie, you want to hear from a fan? Should we ask a fan?
KATIE LEDECKY: Yeah, sure.
- OK, let's do that, guys. Let's do that. Let's get a fan question, and Katie will respond on the other end.
- Hi. My name's Lily [INAUDIBLE]. I have a question for Katie. Katie, I'm a swimmer. How do you become a Olympic swimmer?
KATIE LEDECKY: Oh, Lily, that's a great question. I'm going to send you a swim cap. You know, it's something that, when I was your age, I never dreamed that I would become an Olympian. I might be one of the few swimmers that would say that, but I never really set it as a goal until it became more of a reality for me, when it became, you know, real and that I could potentially do it. And so
I would encourage you, Lily, just to set some goals for yourself. And you're just going to start setting higher and higher and higher goals, and maybe one day that next goal will be to go to the Olympics. That's what it was like for me, and I know that any young girl out there can achieve that kind of goal if they set their mind to it.