The Most Impressive Thing Katie Ledecky Did at the Olympics Didn’t Happen in the Pool. It’s a Lesson for Every Leader

She is undisputedly the best at what she does. Katie Ledecky now has more Olympic medals than any other American woman. Her nine gold medals tie her for second-most among all athletes, men or women. As swimmers go, Ledecky is a legend.

She may not be the fastest in terms of raw speed, but no one has swam as fast for as far as Katie Ledecky has. She holds the world record for the 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle, and on Saturday, Katie Ledecky accomplished what no woman has ever done–winning her fourth consecutive gold medal in the same event (the 800-meter freestyle).

Despite all of that, I think what she did after the race was even more impressive. As Ledecky stood on the top podium to receive her gold medal, she brought her teammate, Paige Madden, to stand next to her during the national anthem. Madden had just finished the race of her life, good enough for a bronze medal of her own.

To understand the significance, you have to understand the journey Madden took to get to this point. A two-time ACC Swimmer of the Year at Virginia, Madden had had a successful NCAA career. Then, in 2021–at the Tokyo Olympics–Madden won a silver medal as a member of the 4×200-meter relay. In 2022, however, Madden faced health issues that almost forced her to quit swimming entirely. 

It was an accomplishment in itself that she swam at the Olympic trials this year. However, it was more surprising that she swam the 800-meter freestyle. It wasn’t even her best event, but she qualified for the team, second behind Ledecky.

Then, on Saturday, she swam the best race of her life, coming from sixth place to catch everyone except Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus of Australia, to win her very first individual Olympic medal. Oh, and Madden had just become the fourth-fastest woman to ever swim the event. In fact, she swam faster than Ledecky did the first time she broke the world record. From the look on her face, you could tell that this meant everything for Madden, and Ledecky could tell too. 

One of the things I love about Ledecky’s decision at that moment to bring her teammate with her to the top of the podium is that it didn’t cost her anything. It didn’t diminish Ledecky’s accomplishment at all, but it said everything about how much she respected what Madden herself had accomplished. It was an acknowledgment that the two are not just teammates and fellow Americans, but peers, despite the fact that Ledecky has more hardware and more records.

There is a temptation to believe that if you invite someone to your level, you somehow give up some of your position or achievement, but that’s just not true. In Ledecky’s case, no one was confused about who won. No one thinks less of what Ledecky did because she shared the podium.

By the way, as the Olympic pool competition finished Sunday, NBC’s cameras kept showing Ledecky in the crowd, there to support and cheer on her fellow teammates. Judging by her reaction while watching the women’s 4×100-meter medley relay win a gold medal while setting a world record, I don’t think anyone was more excited than Ledecky. She could have taken her medals and taken the night off, but she was there, cheering like the biggest fan in the room. 

The lesson here isn’t complicated. As a leader, you have an opportunity to use your platform (in this case, literally) to lift up the people around you. In fact, I’d argue it’s more than an opportunity, it is your responsibility. That’s what Ledecky did, and it might have been the most impressive moment in her legendary career.