Katie Ledecky will make her professional swimming debut at a Pro Series meet in Indianapolis next week.
The five-time Olympic champion who’s been hailed as the world’s most dominant athlete had announced in March that she had opted to forgo her final two years of amateur eligibility at Stanford University to pursue professional opportunities during the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Now the 21-year-old from Maryland will enter at the TYR Pro Swim Series on 16-19 May in Indianapolis, headlining a loaded field that includes Olympic gold medalists Nathan Adrian, Matt Grevers, Lilly King, Allison Schmitt and Simone Manuel.
Ledecky emerged as a global star at the 2016 Olympics, completing the first 200-400-800 freestyle treble in 48 years and anchoring the winning 4x200m free relay. Her four gold medals and one silver represented the most successful showing by an American woman in Olympic history, while her imperious victory in the 800m by a mind-numbing 11.38 seconds remains one of the most indelible images of the Rio Games.
Afterward she enrolled at Stanford and, alongside Manuel, led the Cardinal to the program’s first national team title since 1998, setting a dozen NCAA records and becoming the first freshman in 35 years to receive the Honda Cup, which is awarded to the nation’s top female collegiate athlete.
Ledecky was equally dominant as a sophomore, sealing a repeat national team title on her 21st birthday with a 28-second win in the 1,650-yard freestyle in March. One week later, the Maryland teenager announced her intent to turn pro at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington DC.
“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to train and swim collegiately for two years alongside some of the greatest women swimmers of this generation – swimmers who are not just great athletes, but great people as well,” Ledecky said in a statement. “I am equally excited about the opportunities and challenges ahead as I continue to compete internationally and further my education.”
Ledecky is no newcomer to the Pro Swim Series after winning last year’s overall points title, but her amateur status precluded her from collecting prize money, or cashing in on endorsement opportunities, due to NCAA eligibility rules.
Beyond next week’s pro debut, Ledecky will be eying the US Championships in Irvine, California, and the Pan Pacific Championships the following month in Tokyo, both of which are qualifying meets for next year’s world championships in Gwangju, South Korea.
