Sports
The evolution of Katie Ledecky: As Olympics near, U.S. swimming star comes full circle
Follow our Olympics coverage in the lead-up to the Paris Games.
In April, Bruce Gemmell received a phone call from someone who had changed his life more than a decade ago. They text frequently, so it wasn’t strange to hear from her. But what she asked of him made him laugh.
Katie Ledecky’s first question was quintessential Katie: Hey, I’m coming home to Maryland for a few days in May. Can I train with you?
An easy yes from her old swim coach.
Then: Oh, by the way, when I’m home, I’m going to the White House to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I’m hoping you’d be free to come as my guest. I don’t want to impose or anything.
“She really said it that way,” Gemmell said, chuckling. “I said, ‘Yes, of course, I would love to go.’”
Heading into the day, he figured the coolest part would be meeting President Joe Biden; Gemmell is a Delaware native, and his wife had interned for then-Senator Biden at one point. It’d be a nice little full-circle moment.
Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Free, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign up
Buy
But Gemmell’s main takeaway was something different, something far more significant to the man who had trained the most dominant female swimmer in the sport’s history during her most dominant stretch, starting after the London Olympics and running through the Rio Games. He started working with her when she was 15, very quiet and even more shy.
And he watched 27-year-old Katie Ledecky work the room, taking photos with those who asked and speaking with people from all walks of life.
“She was the star of the show as far as I’m concerned — maybe sharing it with Nancy Pelosi,” Gemmell said. “It was absolutely a sign of growth from that somewhat awkward, not-socially-competent 15-year-old who burst on the scene in London to win an Olympic gold medal.
“Watching her evolution from 15 to 27, being in complete control of a room with all these powerful, rich politicians and dignitaries, it’s just heartwarming to see that with her. And during that same period of time, my daughter has gone from a little child, toddler type of thing to somebody who is now powering around the world to swim meets with Katie Ledecky.”
Gemmell’s daughter, Erin, who was 7 when Ledecky began training with her father, is on the U.S. Olympic team alongside her. The little girl who once dressed up as Katie Ledecky for Halloween qualified to be part of the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay with her. Erin, now 19, punched her ticket by finishing fourth in the 200-meter freestyle event in Indianapolis — the top four finishers automatically qualify — and as she looked up at the video board to confirm she’d just made her first Olympic team, Ledecky swam across two lanes with a big smile to hug her.
Now that is a full-circle moment.
Katie Ledecky, right, embraces Erin Gemmell after the 200-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials. Gemmell has long looked up to Ledecky, who was once coached by Gemmell’s dad. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
“She’s been such a big influence,” Erin said. “I don’t think I would really be here if it weren’t for her. It’s really special to be able to be that close to someone who is so inspirational, getting to see the day-to-day work that they put in. It makes it seem more achievable in a way, being so close. It makes them seem a lot more human.”
When Erin met Ledecky, she was “terrified” of her. Erin also characterizes herself as “definitely an annoying child,” so she can’t believe how kind and welcoming Ledecky was to her. And though her older brother, Andrew, has Olympic experience as a swimmer and her dad has plenty of it as a coach, Erin can’t believe how lucky she is to experience Paris and the lead-up alongside Ledecky.
Her father can’t believe his luck, either. Erin isn’t one to send photos or updates from training camp — Team USA trained in North Carolina and later in Croatia — but Ledecky will send selfies of the two. Ledecky is not just Erin’s role model; she’s basically her older sister. She’s in charge of parent updates, and Erin is in charge of nail painting.
“Katie is (in) the top very small number of swimmers, probably the best female ever,” Bruce Gemmell said. “But her qualities as an individual are at another level. I say that fondly … with tears in my eyes.”
Ledecky herself has always understood her power and influence. It’s part of the reason she was quiet and shy for so long; that’s who she is, but it’s also how she wanted to come across to the world. She’s a serious woman with big goals she has spent her entire career working toward. And she’s not anywhere near the finish line yet. She has said she plans to compete at age 31 in the Los Angeles Olympics, which would be her fifth Games.
But even now, with the Paris Games just days away, she knows she is already a veteran on the national team. On the women’s side alone are two 17-year-olds (Alex Shackell, Claire Weinstein), an 18-year-old (Katie Grimes, who qualified in the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle and the open-water event) and Erin. The average age of the women’s team is 22.1 years old.
Ledecky is also one of the most accomplished female Olympians, with seven gold medals. In Paris, she could break the record held by gymnast Larisa Latynina, who won nine gold medals for the Soviet Union in the 1950s and ’60s. Ledecky is the favorite in the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle events, so to break the record she would need only an upset win in either the 4×200-meter freestyle relay (Australia will be the favorite) or the 400-meter freestyle (Aussie Ariarne Titmus and Canadian phenom Summer McIntosh are the top contenders).
Katie Ledecky shows off her gold medal from the 800-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. She’ll be favored in that and the 1,500-meter again in Paris. (Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images)
At Ledecky’s peak in Rio de Janeiro, she won gold in events as short as the 200 free. Recovery looked different at age 19, too. But Ledecky doesn’t see medals that aren’t silver or gold as a failure. She finds value in the work itself — and in her own consistency.
“I pride myself on that consistency,” Ledecky said. “I challenge myself to stay consistent. Yeah, I mean, sometimes it can be tough feeling like you’re not having a breakthrough. But to be really consistent is something I’m really happy with. I’ve learned to just really enjoy each day of training and take in every moment and just appreciate the fact that I’ve been able to have this long of a career, stay injury-free, stay pretty healthy, be able to do this for this many years.”
She has also embraced her role as an elder statesman of the sport. She’s the one who darts over to find the Erins of the world to celebrate with them. She said her favorite message to her first-time Olympian teammates is the one she received from her first coach, Yuri Suguiyama, ahead of London in 2012. He told her she deserved to be on that team, she earned it and she belonged. That’s been Ledecky’s message to her younger teammates: You belong.
Ledecky remembers what it was like to be young and in love with swimming, not knowing where it could take you. She knows what that amazement feels like; she knows some of her teammates might even be intimidated by being on a roster alongside her. But she keeps perspective. She paints her nails red, white and blue. She sends selfies, commemorating the little and the big moments. That’s how she got here, at the precipice of even more history.
“I never dreamed of that as a young kid, to make an Olympics,” Ledecky said. “So, after London … I wanted to get back to that level to prove that I wasn’t just a one-hit wonder. But at the same time, I reminded myself that anything more than that was like icing on the cake, cherry on top, whatever. Because, again, I just never thought I’d make it to that one Olympics.
“That’s the perspective that I think I’ve been able to maintain, that keeps me focused and keeps me enjoying the sport so much while enjoying the teammates and the people that are around me.”
GO DEEPER
Behind Caeleb Dressel’s Olympic return, ‘a work in progress’ to rekindle his love for swimming
(Top illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; photo of Katie Ledecky: Al Bello / Getty Images)
Sports
Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue.
Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June.
Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.
Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling.
“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.
Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case.
(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital.
“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13.
Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.
With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.
Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice.
Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)
SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.
“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Related Article
Sports
Myles Garrett cited for speeding a ninth time, an elite pass rusher seemingly always in a rush
Myles Garrett is in a hurry to become the greatest pass rusher in NFL history. The Cleveland Browns All-Pro defensive end set the single-season sack record in 2025 and has cracked the top 20 career leaders after only nine seasons.
“I’m going to take that down, and I prefer I take it down in the next five years,” Garrett told Casino Guru News last month.
Off the field, however, his urgency to get from point A to B is a problem. He’s accumulating speeding tickets at an alarming rate.
On Feb. 21, Garrett was handed his ninth speeding ticket since his NFL career began in 2017. He was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.
The citation from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Garrett was driving his green 2024 Porsche at 1:35 a.m., returning home after attending a Miami of Ohio basketball game in Oxford.
Body cam footage shows the officer telling Garrett that she kept the charge under 100 mph so that a court appearance wouldn’t be mandatory. Garrett reportedly still holds a Texas driver’s license — he attended Texas A&M — and told the officer that he did not have an Ohio license.
Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett wears a jacket displaying his girlfriend Chloe Kim before the women’s snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy.
(Lindsey Wasson / AP)
The officer wrote that the famously affable Garrett was “kind and cooperative,” and that drugs and alcohol were not a factor.
Garrett’s need for speed flies in the face of his persona. He has written poetry since high school, peppers social media with inspirational sayings and donates time and money to several charities.
His girlfriend is two-time gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, for whom he wrote a poem he shared on social media: “You enrapture fools to kings, and exist without a peer, put on this Earth for many things, but our love is why you’re here.”
Verse hasn’t slowed his roll. On Aug. 9 he was cited for ticket No. 8, clocked at 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in a Cleveland suburb a day after the Browns returned home from a preseason game at Carolina.
Garrett’s seventh ticket followed a frightening crash in 2022. He flipped his gray 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S off State Road in Sharon Township and he and a female passenger were injured. He was cited for failing to control his vehicle due to unsafe speeds on what had been a slick roadway.
A witness told a responding police officer that Garrett’s vehicle went airborne, took out a fire hydrant and rolled three times. Garrett sustained shoulder and biceps sprains and was sidelined for the Browns’ game that week against the Atlanta Falcons. His companion was not seriously injured.
Cleveland television station WKYC reported that in September 2021 Garrett was stopped twice in a 24-hour period — for driving 120 and 105 mph. The infractions occurred on Interstate 71 in Medina County, where the speed limit is 70 mph, and he paid fines of $267 and $287.
A year earlier, Garrett was cited for driving 100 mph in a 65-mph zone of Interstate 77 — again while driving a Porsche — and paid a $308 fine. He accumulated his first batch of speeding tickets in 2017 and 2018, and the police reports recite similar circumstances: Garrett driving well over the speed limit, cited without incident, paid a nominal fine.
The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent. Garrett, 30, and the Browns agreed to a four-year contract extension in March 2025 that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time. The deal pays the seven-time All-Pro more than $40 million a season and includes more than $123 million in guaranteed money.
He set the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0 last season, surpassing the 22.5 accumulated by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. Garrett has 125.5 career sacks, averaging 14 a season, a pace that would enable him to break Bruce Smith’s career record of 200 in five years.
“That is definitely on my mind to go out there and get,” Garrett said. “That’s a goal I’ve had for years now since college.”
Garrett has declined to discuss his driving habits.
“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” he told reporters after ticket No. 8 in August, referring to a charity appearance.
“I try to keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Former ESPN broadcaster Keith Olbermann once again incited backlash on social media Wednesday after he called late legendary college football coach Lou Holtz a “legendary scumbag” in an X post on the day Holtz was announced dead.
“Legendary scumbag, yes,” Olbermann wrote in response to a clip of Holtz criticizing former President Joe Biden in 2020 for supporting abortion rights.
Olbermann received scathing criticism in response to his post on X.
“You’re a scumbag that needs mental help,” one X user wrote to Olbermann.
One user echoed that sentiment, writing to Olbermann, “You’re the real scumbag here. Lou Holtz had more class, integrity, and genuine decency in his pinky finger than you’ll ever show in your lifetime.”
Another user wrote, “You’re a grumpy, lonely, Godless man. All the things Lou Holtz was not.”
Keith Olbermann speaks onstage during the Olbermann panel at the ESPN portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel July 24, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Olbermann has made it a pattern of sharing politically charged far-left statements that are often combative and ridiculed on social media, typically resulting in immense backlash.
After the U.S. men’s hockey team’s gold medal win, Olbermann heavily criticized the team for accepting an invitation from President Trump to the State of the Union address. Olbermann wrote on X that any members of the men’s team who attended the event were “declaring their indelible stupidity and misogyny,” while praising the women’s team for declining the invitation.
In January, Olbermann attacked former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler for celebrating a women’s rights rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments for two cases focused on the legality of biological male trans athletes in women’s sports.
Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz listens before being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec, 3, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“It’s still about you trying to find an excuse for a lifetime wasted trying to succeed in sports without talent,” Olbermann wrote in response to Wheeler’s post.
In 2025, Olbermann faced significant backlash after posting (and later deleting) a message on X aimed at CNN contributor Scott Jennings, that said, “You’re next motherf—–,” shortly after the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.
Holtz was a stern supporter of President Donald Trump, even saying in February 2024 that Trump needed to “coach America back to greatness!”
Near the end of Trump’s first term, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated him in the 2020 election, Trump awarded Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States.
After Holtz’s death was announced Wednesday, several top GOP figures paid tribute to the coach on social media.
Those GOP lawmakers included senators Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; Todd Young, R-Ind.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; representatives Greg Murphy, R-N.C.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; Erin Houchin, R-Ind.; and Steve Womack, R-Ark.; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Indiana Gov. Mike Braun; U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon; and Rudy Giuliani.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach, addresses the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit at the Marriott Marquis July 26, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)
At the time of publication, prominent Democrat leaders have appeared silent on Holtz’s passing, including prominent Democrats with a football background.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who worked as an assistant high school football coach; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who was a recruiting target for Holtz in 1986 as a college prospect; Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, who played in the NFL; and Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Ill., who played football for the University of Illinois, have not posted acknowledging Holtz’s death.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Related Article
Rapper Tee Grizzley plans mixed-use apartment project in Brush Park
5 teens, 3 adults arrested in San Francisco double stabbing at Dolores Park
Dallas City Council approves resolution to explore leaving Dallas City Hall
Miami Gardens mother gets probation after her 2-year-old shot himself
Boston honors first casualty of American Revolution – The Boston Globe
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Map: 4.9-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Louisiana
Paxton vows he’s ‘staying in this race’ even if Trump backs Cornyn in Texas GOP clash
Which Kurdish groups is the US rallying to fight Iran?
Man accused of plot to assassinate Trump testifies Iran pressured him, says Biden and Haley were other possible targets
DHS defends McLaughlin against allegations husband’s company profited millions from ad contracts: ‘Baseless’
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin4 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon6 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling