Katie Ledecky Says She’s Already Training ‘Pretty Hard’ for Olympics 2028 (Exclusive)

Katie Ledecky has her eyes on the prize!

The next Summer Olympics are three years away, but Ledecky is already preparing. In fact, she never actually stopped. The competitive swimmer, 28, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that “training is constant.”

Ledecky explains that she only takes a break from training for about two weeks every year. Last year, she took time off during the summer. That means now, she’s back in the groove of things.

“I’m in pretty hard training right now,” she says. “The Olympics are three years away, but they’ll be here before you know it.”

The athlete notes that she is balancing her training with other things in her life. “I have a lot of other goals along the way to 2028, so I’m working hard and just putting in a lot of good training right now,” she says. 

The 2028 Summer Olympics will take place in Los Angeles and have been dubbed the 2028 L.A. Games, also known as LA28. The event will feature a dual-venue opening ceremony at the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium, with events spread out across Southern California.

Ledecky became the most decorated American female Olympian in history at the 2024 Paris Games. She has won 14 Olympic medals since making her Olympic debut in 2012. Of those medals, nine of them are gold, four are silver and one is bronze. 

The swimmer previously revealed what has inspired her throughout her Olympic journey in an interview with PEOPLE. 

“It was pretty eye-opening to me, coming off my first Olympics when I was 15 years old, just having finished my freshman year of high school, to realize the impact I could have just by going to certain places and showing my gold medals to kids or elderly folk,” she said.

“It was a real eye-opening moment for me as a 15-year-old and something that I carry with me. It honestly inspires me to continue to try to win those medals, so I can show them to people and make them smile. It’s a real blessing to be able to do that,” Ledecky continued. 

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In December 2025, Ledecky was awarded the Sports Achievement Award at the March of Dimes luncheon. She shared how her family motto has influenced her career while accepting the honor.

” ‘Take the lead, keep the lead.’ That’s something that my grandfather used to tell my mom before her swim races and it’s how I swam to my first Olympic gold medal. I took the lead and I didn’t look back,” the swimmer said.