After last competing at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore earlier this year, American swimmer Katie Ledecky is set to make her return to the sport at an invitational named after her.
Originally called “The Nation’s Capital Invitational,” the organizers decided to rename the event “The Katie Ledecky Invitational” in honor of the swimming icon.
The event will be held annually at the University of Maryland, with this year’s meet scheduled for December 11 to 14th.
What Races Will The Katie Ledecky Invitational Feature?
Nation’s Capital Swimming (NCAP) was Ledecky’s childhood club, with the 9-time Olympic gold medalist competing in this meet at least three times before she left for college. She began training in competitive swimming with the club at the age of six in 2003, and has often spoken about how they helped develop her career.
Ledecky will be attending the meet to sign autographs on Saturday (13th) and on Sunday (14th), she will race in the 1650-yard freestyle. She has only competed in this event twice since finishing her NCAA career in 2018, holding the American and U.S Open records multiple times while doing so. Her latest time in the event was 15:01.41, which was more than 22 seconds ahead of the next-best time.
The invitational features multiple races across age groups, including the 200-yard backstroke, 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard medley relay, 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard freestyle, and more. Over 30 teams and 1,500 athletes from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast typically participate.
Ledecky Reflects On Her Olympic Debut At The Age Of 15
Ledecky made her Olympic debut at the London Games in 2012, at the age of just 15. She managed to earn a place on Team USA by posting a time of 8:19.78 in the 800m freestyle at the US trials, eventually going on to win the gold medal in the event at the Games with a time of 8:14.63.
In an interview with Elon University, Ledecky discussed competing at the Games at such a young age: “You can feel a little out of place when you’re swimming next to these competitors that have been in two or three Olympics, and they are world record holders. I had (Prince) William and Princess Kate in the stands for my race. It was kind of daunting, but I felt the support of my community around me, and they helped me before, during, and maybe most importantly, after that first Olympics.”
Ledecky went head-to-head with some of the world’s best, including defending champion Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain. Yet none could keep pace, as Ledecky surged to victory, finishing a commanding four seconds ahead of Spain’s Mireia Belmonte Garcia in second place.
