1 min
Day in the Life: Katie Ledecky, Olympic Swimmer The Body Clock Podcast
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- Mental Health
Katie Ledecky is a 5X Olympic gold medalist, 15X world champion, and multiple world-record holder for Team USA women’s swimming (Team USA, n.d.). When she was just a freshman in high school, she qualified for the 2012 London Games by achieving an Olympic-trials record in the 800-meter freestyle. In doing so, she became the youngest member of the U.S. swimming team (Augustyn, 2021). What goes into her daily 24 hours to keep her so far ahead of the pack?
Below is an inside glimpse into Katie’s average training day when she was heading into Rio 2016, followed by a glimpse of what her pandemic training has been like.
https://videos.posttv.com/washpost-production/The_Washington_Post/20150204/54d276f9e4b03a5c9dfae719/576d537fe4b05fc352852b91_1439399835595-cf9g26_t_1466782614380_1280_720_2000.mp4
Video Credit: The Washington Post
Katie Ledecky’s Daily Routine (Rio 2016):
4:05AM – Wake Up
4:15AM – Snack of toast w/ peanut butter, banana or apple
5AM – Swim practice, 6,000 to 6,500 yards
7AM – Breakfast of bacon, egg, cheese and tomato omelet with potatoes; or bagel with cream cheese and egg; or yogurt and fruit with berries… preferred beverage is chocolate milk.
8AM – Nap
10AM – Snack of yogurt, honey and granola with mixed berries, plus either an apple or pear
11AM – Dryland training
12:30PM – Lunch of pasta with chicken or Caesar salad with chicken and an avocado
1PM – Watch TV, read or take another nap
2:45PM – Snack of fruit and sometimes more toast w/ peanut butter
3:30PM – Swim practice, 7,000 to 8,000 yards
6PM – Snack of yogurt; key lime flavor is a recent favorite. Drinks another chocolate milk.
6:30PM – Dinner of carbs, such as pasta, white rice, or arugula with white beans, tomato, garlic and chicken or steak. Ledecky does not eat candy, ice cream, cake or soda. Although she did have a tiny piece of her mom’s birthday cake in April.
7PM – Read, watch TV…”She has become a news nerd, especially the primaries, caucuses and debates,” her father Dave told ESPN.
9:15PM – Bedtime (Hersh, 2016)
Gearing Up for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Due to the interference of COVID-19, Ledecky’s strokes to Tokyo have been unconventional. Yet, in spite of the adversity she has faced since spring of last year due to the pandemic, Ledecky has found a way to keep swimming through it all.
In March 2020, the Stanford University pool Ledecky typically trained at underwent a 3 month-long shutdown due to COVID. Yet, she was able to still maintain a training regimen due to the kindness of a local family, who offered their backyard pool to her and her teammate Simone Manuel for swim practice. The pool happened to have two lanes and be 25 yards long, which was a blessing, given the circumstances (Wire & Ramsay, 2021).
And amid the dark clouds of the pandemic, another bright spot appeared along with this pool. The family who leant Ledecky their pool has grandchildren that would come over and enthusiastically root for Ledecky and Manuel–in a socially distanced manner–as these two swimming phenoms glided through the water with grace and speed (Wire & Ramsay, 2021).
Ledecky asserts that she’ll keep the encouragement of those kids in her heart and mind as she’s about...
Katie Ledecky is a 5X Olympic gold medalist, 15X world champion, and multiple world-record holder for Team USA women’s swimming (Team USA, n.d.). When she was just a freshman in high school, she qualified for the 2012 London Games by achieving an Olympic-trials record in the 800-meter freestyle. In doing so, she became the youngest member of the U.S. swimming team (Augustyn, 2021). What goes into her daily 24 hours to keep her so far ahead of the pack?
Below is an inside glimpse into Katie’s average training day when she was heading into Rio 2016, followed by a glimpse of what her pandemic training has been like.
https://videos.posttv.com/washpost-production/The_Washington_Post/20150204/54d276f9e4b03a5c9dfae719/576d537fe4b05fc352852b91_1439399835595-cf9g26_t_1466782614380_1280_720_2000.mp4
Video Credit: The Washington Post
Katie Ledecky’s Daily Routine (Rio 2016):
4:05AM – Wake Up
4:15AM – Snack of toast w/ peanut butter, banana or apple
5AM – Swim practice, 6,000 to 6,500 yards
7AM – Breakfast of bacon, egg, cheese and tomato omelet with potatoes; or bagel with cream cheese and egg; or yogurt and fruit with berries… preferred beverage is chocolate milk.
8AM – Nap
10AM – Snack of yogurt, honey and granola with mixed berries, plus either an apple or pear
11AM – Dryland training
12:30PM – Lunch of pasta with chicken or Caesar salad with chicken and an avocado
1PM – Watch TV, read or take another nap
2:45PM – Snack of fruit and sometimes more toast w/ peanut butter
3:30PM – Swim practice, 7,000 to 8,000 yards
6PM – Snack of yogurt; key lime flavor is a recent favorite. Drinks another chocolate milk.
6:30PM – Dinner of carbs, such as pasta, white rice, or arugula with white beans, tomato, garlic and chicken or steak. Ledecky does not eat candy, ice cream, cake or soda. Although she did have a tiny piece of her mom’s birthday cake in April.
7PM – Read, watch TV…”She has become a news nerd, especially the primaries, caucuses and debates,” her father Dave told ESPN.
9:15PM – Bedtime (Hersh, 2016)
Gearing Up for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics
Due to the interference of COVID-19, Ledecky’s strokes to Tokyo have been unconventional. Yet, in spite of the adversity she has faced since spring of last year due to the pandemic, Ledecky has found a way to keep swimming through it all.
In March 2020, the Stanford University pool Ledecky typically trained at underwent a 3 month-long shutdown due to COVID. Yet, she was able to still maintain a training regimen due to the kindness of a local family, who offered their backyard pool to her and her teammate Simone Manuel for swim practice. The pool happened to have two lanes and be 25 yards long, which was a blessing, given the circumstances (Wire & Ramsay, 2021).
And amid the dark clouds of the pandemic, another bright spot appeared along with this pool. The family who leant Ledecky their pool has grandchildren that would come over and enthusiastically root for Ledecky and Manuel–in a socially distanced manner–as these two swimming phenoms glided through the water with grace and speed (Wire & Ramsay, 2021).
Ledecky asserts that she’ll keep the encouragement of those kids in her heart and mind as she’s about...
1 min