"I hope to see her surpass that" - Dara Torres rooting for Katie Ledecky to become the most decorated female American swimmer at Paris Olympics 2024

By Puneet Tripathi

Modified Jul 17, 2024 13:43 GMT

American swimmer Dara Torres believes that Katie Ledecky is set to smash the women's record for most Olympic medals at Paris 2024. With her extraordinary performances, Ledecky is set to become the most decorated female American swimmer of all time, as per Torres.

In the span of three Olympic Games, Katie Ledecky has won ten medals, seven of which are gold. She competes mainly in the freestyle events and specializes in long-distance races. She has broken swimming world records sixteen times.

In her interview with Fox News, former swimmer and a prolific Olympic gold medalist herself, Dara Torres agreed that Ledecky will break the record of most Olympic medals in women's swimming again and added that the legend has the competitive nature of a successful athlete, calling her the best Olympian in the sport:

"I don’t think it’s necessarily the medal count that makes her the greatest Olympian of all time. She’s going to be competing in her fourth Olympic Games. The thing that’s so special about Katie is she can swim a 100, and she can swim a mile. I swam a 100 – there’s no way I could swim a mile."

"I really hope to see her surpass (the record) which I think she will. She will be given a little bit of a run for her money and there are some great swimmers out there but she should be able to shine like she has in the past," she added.

Torres, the oldest swimmer to compete in the Olympics at the age of 41 in 2008, firmly believes in Katie Ledecky's abilities. Along with Jenny Thompson, Torres holds a total of 12 Olympic medals, which is the world record for the maximum number of Olympic medals by a woman swimmer.

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Katie Ledecky is eyeing the top spot at Paris 2024

Seven-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky is en route to potentially achieving a world record of 12 Olympic medals. She has earned records in numerous events and bested many in long-distance freestyle swimming events, making her a super athlete in the female swimming category.

Katie Ledecky at the Paris Olympics 2024 Team Trials (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

Ledecky stepped into the limelight by breaking the world record in the 1500m freestyle event when she was just 16 years old. She registered a time of 15:36.53s in the event at the World Championships in Barcelona. She broke the 800m record with a time of 8:13.86s at the same edition.

Ledecky later broke her records four times in the 800m events. After conquering feats in the 1500m and 800m events, she went ahead to show her dominance in the 400m freestyle. She broke its world record by registering a time of 3:58.86s.

Ledecky has broken her records numerous times now. At the Rio Olympics, she smashed her world record in the 400m (3:56.46s) for the third time and in the 800m freestyle (8:04.79s) for the fifth time. She didn't stop there; two years later, she shattered the 1500m freestyle event world record for the sixth time, standing out with a timing of 15:20.48s, which is still unbeaten.

Thus, it's pretty clear why Ledecky is eyeing the 2024 Paris Olympics. With her vision that extends beyond securing additional medals to beating her world records, everyone from the legendary Dara Torress to Ledecky's fans is buzzing with excitement, eagerly waiting to see her make history again. As she looks to step up her game once again at the grandest stage, we could witness something unbelievable unfold in just a few days.