Katie Ledecky wrote a memoir — “Just Add Water” — that comes out June 11, four days before the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.
The book “charts Ledecky’s life in swimming,” according to Simon & Schuster.
“I first started keeping a journal when I was 14 years old, to document my training in the lead-up to the 2012 London Olympics,” Ledecky, who turns 27 on March 17, said in a press release. “Paging through them last year, I realized these journals included elements of my wider story in swimming. I also wanted to be able to show that I wouldn’t be where I am without the love, support, and encouragement of people who have influenced me.”
Around age 6, Ledecky joined the Palisades Porpoises of the Montgomery County Swim League in her native Maryland with her older brother, Michael.
She quickly showed talent, and by age 15 made her first Olympic team in 2012. The youngest U.S. Olympian across all sports in London, Ledecky won the 800m freestyle.
Over the last 12 years, she racked up 10 Olympic medals (two shy of the female swimming record and two shy of the U.S. women’s record across all sports), 26 world championships medals (a female record) and broke world records in the 400m, 800m and 1500m frees.
Ledecky, already the second-youngest U.S. swimmer to win individual Olympic gold, can this summer become the oldest U.S. female swimmer to win individual Olympic gold by two years.
