Katie Ledecky will defer her enrollment at Stanford University for one year so she can remain in Maryland to train for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Ledecky, 18, burst onto the world stage when she won an Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter freestyle as a 15-year-old at the 2012 London Olympics.
She’ll graduate from the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda this spring as the current world record holder in the 400-meter freestyle, 800-meter freestyle and 1,500-meter freestyle and the American record holder in the 500-yard[O1] freestyle and 1,650-yard freestyle.
In an announcement from Stone Ridge, Ledecky said she plans to head to Stanford in the fall of 2016.
In the meantime, she’ll train here with club coach Bruce Gemmell. The decision was made in consultation with Stanford swimming coach Greg Meehan. Both Gemmell and Meehan will serve as coaches on the USA Swimming National Team for this summer’s World Championships in Russia.
“I greatly appreciate the understanding, support and guidance I received from both Coach Gemmell and Coach Meehan in helping to reach this decision,” Ledecky said. “I am thrilled and excited to be admitted to Stanford, and I very much look forward to my enrollment there as a student in the fall of 2016 and swimming in NCAA competition as a member of Coach Meehan’s Stanford team.”
Ledecky has been named USA Swimming’s Athlete of the Year for the past two years and, as one of the best swimmers in the world, has dominated local high school competition.
The 2016 U.S. Olympic trials are set for June 2016 in Nebraska. The eight-day event is the only qualifier for the USA Swimming National Team that will head to the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
