Katie Ledecky received the highest civil distinction in the United States

The American swimmer Katie Ledecky, seven-time Olympic champion and holder of 21 world titles, was awarded last Friday at the White House with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

Distinguished as “the best swimmer on the planet” and acclaimed by the White House as “the most decorated swimmer in history and an athletic prodigy”, Ledecky was the only female athlete and the first in her specialty to receive the honor from Joe Biden among the 19 lucky winners, a select list that ranged from politicians to astronauts and that had the versatile Jim Thorpe as the other recognized athlete.

After the annual ceremony held in Washington D.C., the hometown of the 27-year-old triple Olympic runner-up, she posted a message of thanks to the president on her social networks and described the day as “incredibly special”.

In addition, the third highest Olympic medalist in North American history - behind Jenny Thompson (12) and Allyson Felix (11) - told the weekly magazine Sports Illustrated that the medal “inspires her to continue working very hard, both inside and outside the pool” and revealed that she was “very excited for summer”, with Paris 2024 as her main objective.

The annual award occurred days after Ledecky expressed in a report with NBC his stated intention to participate in Los Angeles 2028 in his fifth Olympic experience, the 2028, at 31 years of age, and less than three months after the competition at the Parisian Aquatic Center, in which he once again appears as the big favorite to triumph in the 800 and 1,500 meters.