Katie Ledecky will wait until after the Rio 2016 Olympics to enroll at Stanford, where she plans to swim collegiately.
“After careful consideration and joint discussion with both my current club coach, Bruce Gemmell of Nation’s Capital Swim Club, and Stanford coach Greg Meehan, I have decided to defer my enrollment at Stanford for one year so that I may continue my training in my home environment in Maryland leading up to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials,” Ledecky said in a statement. “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. I also feel so fortunate that both Coach Gemmell and Coach Meehan will be serving as coaches on the USA Swimming National team staff for this summer’s World Championships.”
Ledecky, 18 and a graduating (Bethesda, Md.) Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart senior, is following in the path of fellow 2012 Olympic champion Missy Franklin in swimming collegiately before turning pro.
Franklin swam two seasons at California, Stanford’s biggest rival, before turning pro this spring. Therefore, Franklin and Ledecky will not compete against each other in NCAA meets.
Ledecky is the world-record holder in the 400m, 800m and 1500m freestyles and said she plans to swim all plus the 200m free and 4x200m free relay at the World Championships in Kazan, Russia, in August.