Just Add Water: My Swimming Life

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

WHAT MAKES A CHAMPION

I never imagined I would make it to the Olympics, or be at this level, or write a book about this unlikely career that Ive had. But Ive really enjoyed the ride, this journey.

Katie Ledecky is one of the best swimmers ever to compete. She has won more individual Olympic races than any female swimmer in history. A three-time Olympian, a seven-time gold medalist, a twenty-one-time world champion, eight-time NCAA Champion, and world record-holder in individual swimming events, Ledecky shares what it takes to compete at an elite level.

Again and again, Katie Ledecky has broken records: those of others and, increasingly, her own. She is both consistent and innovativeconsistent at setting goals and shattering them, and innovative in the way she approaches her training. A true competitor, she sets her goals by choosing the ones that feel the scariest. But, crucially, she never sacrifices the joy of competition, even in the face of adversity. Her positive mental outlook and a great support system provides the springboard to her success.

This candid and inspiring memoir charts Ledeckys life in swimming. It details her start in Bethesda, Maryland, where she played sharks and minnows and first discovered the joy of the pool; her early foray into the Olympics at the tender age of fifteen where, as the youngest member of the American team, she stunned everyone by winning her first gold medal; her time balancing competition and her education at Stanford University; how she developed a champions mindset that has allowed her to persevere through so many meets, even under intense pressure; and how she has maintained her dominance in a sport where success depends on milliseconds. You learn how every element of her lifefrom the support of her family to the tutelage of her coaches, from her childhood spent in summer league swimming to the bright lights of Olympic pools in London, Rio, and Tokyoset her up to become the champion she is.

In the end, Katies story is about testing yourself against the difficult, and seeing who you become on the other side.

Author Bio

Katie Ledecky is a record-breaking swimmer who has represented Team USA at three Olympic Games and six world championships, and won her first Olympic gold medal in 2012 at the age of fifteen. Her combined seven Olympic gold medals and twenty-one world championship gold medals are the most ever won by a female swimmer. She was the most decorated US female athlete at the Rio and Tokyo Olympic Games, and she is widely regarded as one of the greatest Olympians and sportswomen of all time. Born in Washington, DC, and a long-time resident of Bethesda, Maryland, Katie is a graduate of Stanford University and is currently training in Gainesville, Florida, in an attempt to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris in the summer of 2024.