Olympic and Stanford swim star Ledecky is turning pro
Katie Ledecky is turning pro. The five-time Olympic swimming gold medalist gave up her final two years of eligibility at Stanford, allowing her to concentrate on training for the 2020 Olympics while cashing in on sponsorship and endorsement deals that wouldn't have been available to her as a college athlete.
Other than the financial windfall, Ledecky isn't planning any big changes. She will continue training on the West Coast under coach Greg Meehan while working toward her degree at Stanford, where she's been focused on psychology and political science.
"It's something I could've done in two years once I completed my eligibility, but this gives me some time before 2020 to really focus in on getting all the pieces in place so I can really train hard and focus on my training leading up to 2020," Ledecky said at the Washington Press Club, where she made the announcement Monday while home on spring break.
Meehan said the two discussed Ledecky's pro aspirations "casually during the recruiting process, but got more specific back in September. "At that time, they decided she should make the transition after the NCAA championships, which were held two weekends ago at Ohio State.
"The biggest benefit is it allows time for her to learn how to manage being a professional athlete before getting laser focused on 2020," Meehan told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "In my opinion, the Olympic year is maybe not the best time to make that transition."
The 21-year-old Ledecky captured five NCAA individual titles while helping the Stanford women win two straight national championships, the school's first back-to-back titles since taking five straight from 1992-96. At this year championships, she won her second straight title in the 1,650-yard free by lapping the field and finishing nearly 30 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
"A lot of people think of swimming as an individual sport. It really can be a team sport," she said. "I feel like I got to take full advantage of that, to really have that the full experience of being part of a special team, being part of something where we were working toward a common goal and doing it together."
Meehan said turning pro should help Ledecky be in peak condition for the next Olympics.
College meets use 25-yard courses, while most major international competitions are conducted in 50-meter pools.
As a college athlete, of course, Ledecky wasn't allowed to sign with sponsors or take endorsement deals that provide the bulk of the income for top swimmers. That would have cost her potentially millions of dollars ahead of next year's world championships in South Korea and the 2020 Tokyo Games, where she is again expected to be one of the biggest stars.