It may seem like gold is always in an Olympian’s sights, but according to Katie Ledecky, that’s not the case when she competes in the race.
Katie ran the 1,500-meter freestyle on Thursday, setting a new Olympic record in a time of 15:30:02.
Despite this incredible achievement, the top swimmer said that strangely enough, she wasn’t thinking about winning another medal or setting the fastest time at all.
Instead, she admitted she had let her mind “wander” during the huge race and just wanted to be happy with the results.
“I just wanted to put in a time that I could be proud of and happy with,” Katie said in a post-race interview.
Katie crushed the 1500m freestyle on Thursday, setting a new Olympic record of 15:30:02
The athlete said she often thinks about her “Florida Crew,” with whom she trained at the University of Florida while swimming.
“During the race I just let my mind wander. I thought about all the people who trained with me. I said their names in my mind and thought about them,” she said.
Katie also won the event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is a five-time world champion, with titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022 and 2023.
But it seems she is the only one with her strategy. 23-time gold medalist Michael Phelps admitted he was surprised by her comments.
He agreed with sports commentator Mike Tirico that it’s “weird” to imagine letting your mind wander during a race.
However, Phelps, who competed in the 100- and 200-meter races, said he had never run as long a distance as Katie.
“Well, first of all, I’ve never swum a race that lasted so long that my mind wandered,” he noted.
On Tuesday is a video from Team USA The contest went viral on TikTok, with one fan writing: “Do you think they only think about their failed relationships?”
Katie also won the event at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is a five-time world champion, with titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2022 and 2023.
And gymnast Sunisa Lee, who won all-around gold, then said lightly, “really,” which seemed to confirm it clearly.
In 2023, 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin said that when she swims, it’s just “you and your thoughts and the sound of the water flowing.”
“There’s no music, there’s no one talking to you,” she told Self magazine at the time for a TikTok video.
She added that her mind wasn’t as empty as Katie’s and that she was mainly focused on her movements.
“Every little detail makes a big difference,” she explained.
“Move your pinky here, your toes here, create tension in this part of your body, relax this part of your body while you’re under so much competitive pressure.”