Few athletes achieved more at the Paris Games than swimmer Katie Ledecky. She won four medals, including gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in a new Olympic record of 15:30.02. In the process, she became the most decorated female Olympian ever to compete for Team USA, with 14 total medals to her name.
But the most meaningful accomplishment for her was her final one: winning gold in the 800 meters for the fourth time, making her the only woman ever to four-peat.
“It doesn’t get any easier each time,” Ledecky tells SELF after returning from Paris. “I felt a sense of relief, a sense of excitement, all the emotions at the end of that one. You always want to end on a good note.”
So how, exactly, does an athlete wind down from such an incredible high? Here’s how Ledecky is taking care of her body and mind post-competition, so she can get back to training mentally and physically refreshed.
1. “Pre-covery” is just as important as what comes after.
The preventive game is especially crucial for Ledecky, who was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, in 2015. This condition causes blood to pool in her legs when she stands up, sometimes causing symptoms like dizziness, fainting, or exhaustion.
In addition to staying hydrated and taking in extra sodium, Ledecky controls her symptoms with compression gear to improve circulation. She has a shirt and leggings, but compression socks are what’s most important to keep blood flowing through her legs. She always wears them when she’s traveling long distances (say, on flights from the United States to Paris).
“A lot of people use compression socks on flights anyway,” she says. “Especially as an athlete, it just helps the legs feel better and helps start the recovery on the plane before you even land.”
2. Fueling between races becomes even more vital during a stacked schedule.
Ledecky’s Olympic schedule was grueling—between heats and finals, she swam eight different races across six days, for a total of nearly 6,000 meters. After each one, she did easy laps to “warm down,” swimmer-speak for cooldown.
In addition, she focused on getting protein, carbs, and electrolytes to replenish and prepare for her next race. The best way to do it: in grab-and-go form, because who’s got time for a sit-down meal when the race schedule is beckoning? Ledecky chooses protein shakes—she’s been partnered with Core Power for years—for training and competition.
“It was easy to grab one of those right after my race,” she says. “I would drink it as I was warming down.” Chocolate is her favorite flavor, but she mixed it up with vanilla on occasion. (Fortunately, Team USA had shipped 11,000 Core Power bottles to Paris ahead of time and hauled huge coolers directly to the pool, so one was always right within reach.)
3. Make time for fun and celebrate all the good stuff.
Although this was her fourth Olympics, Ledecky had never stayed for the second week of the Games after swimming concluded. So for the first time, she spectated other events, popping up at men’s and women’s basketball games and golf matches before carrying the flag in the closing ceremony.
“It was definitely a nice way to kind of start the recovery from Paris in Paris,” she says. Ledecky finally got to experience the Olympics in full swing, without having to worry about the stress of competition. “I got to enjoy the time with my family and make some new friends,” she says.
Some highlights of the furry kind: Cookie Monster and Elmo. Their meetings were captured in adorable videos posted on social media.
“I grew up watching Sesame Street,” she says. “I love chocolate, so I bonded right away with Cookie Monster over those chocolate chip cookies.” He also challenged her to balance a cookie on her head, a nod to her now famous feat of balancing a glass of chocolate milk on her head while swimming the length of a pool.
And yes, in case you’re wondering, she also tried the chocolate chip muffins, at breakfast on her last morning in the Village. Her verdict? “It was basically like chocolate cake.”
4. Spend a considerable amount of time not swimming.
After months of hard training, Ledecky gave her body a serious break after Paris, taking two full weeks out of the pool. She listened to her body and exercised in ways that made her feel good—at first on the elliptical and then eventually with easy swimming laps.
“I’m someone who tends to go pretty hard when I am exercising, so I’m recognizing that and trying to be conscientious in these first few weeks to try to keep it light and fun,” she says. From there, she’ll slowly ramp back up—kind of like a reverse taper—and will likely be back at her usual training volume and intensity by around October.
And she’s banking solid sleep to help her get there: Spectating at the Games coupled with the time change, Ledecky says she was in “a little bit of a sleep debt” when she finally got home. In the time since, she’s been regularly logging 8 to 10 hours a night to catch back up.
5. Soak it all in with family and fans.
Connecting with loved ones keeps Ledecky happy, a critical component of managing the aftermath of such a huge moment, she says. Post-Paris, she headed back to her family’s home in Maryland to see her parents and brother Michael and some friends she hadn’t caught up with for a while; then she visited some cousins in Virginia.
She’s also felt buoyed by messages from fans, especially those who also have POTS. Although Ledecky’s lived with POTS for years, she didn’t reveal it until she published her memoir, Just Add Water, earlier this year. Now that she’s discussed it more, she’s appreciated the people who have reached out about their own POTS diagnosis or said she’s inspired or educated them.
“Everyone has POTS of different severity,” she says. “I have mine under control, but I know that there are others who don’t. I found what helps me, and I stick with that; I hope everyone can find what works for them.”
SELF is your go-to source for all things Paralympics. Follow our coverage of the Paris Games here.
Related:
- 15-Year-Old Katie Ledecky Felt ‘Zero-Pressure’ at Her First Olympics—And Left a Gold Medalist
- How Katie Ledecky Is Defining Success for Paris 2024
- Women Won Big at the Paris Olympics
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