She’s a nine-time Olympic gold medalist, a world-record breaker, a Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee, and now Katie Ledecky will have her own street signs near the Montgomery County, Maryland, school she attended.
Two road signs honoring the Bethesda Native were installed along Cedar Lane near Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Ledecky’s high school alma mater.
At an unveiling ceremony on Thursday on the school’s soccer field, Ledecky said that when she won her Olympic golds, she thought of where she came from and the people that supported her on her journey — her teachers, her coaches and her community.
“What was really special about Paris was I would look around the arena, and I would see so many people from this area in the stands. It almost felt like the Olympics were in the U.S.,” she said, adding that she spotted Stone Ridge T-shirts in the crowd, along with people from her Bethesda elementary school, Little Flower, and coaches from her first swim team, the Palisades Porpoises.
Phoebe Bacon and Erin Gemmell, two other Stone Ridge graduates, were also on U.S. women’s swim team in Paris.
Ledecky, was born and raised in Bethesda, and got her start in swimming at the Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL).
“Our family has a joke that everything always comes back to MCSL. So many friends that I’ve made from around the country swam in Montgomery County, and this is where I got my start. And it’s something that I always remember when I’m up on the podium,” Ledecky said.
Malcom McCluskey, head of upper school at Stone Ridge, praised Ledecky for her sportsmanship and humility, and said as a student at the Catholic girls’ school, Ledecky was grounded in her faith, worked hard in the classroom and gave back to the community.
“I’ve watched her grow into the remarkable young woman that she is today, and it goes without saying that we are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished, both in and outside of the pool and in the classroom,” McCluskey said.
In addition to the honorary street signs, the county has proclaimed Oct. 17, 2024, as “Katie Ledecky Day.”
“Montgomery County has watched you grow into a global icon, and yet you’ve never forgotten where you came from. You set an example for generations to come, and today, we recognize your legacy, not just as an athlete but as a leader, a mentor and a role model,” said County Executive Marc Elrich.
The 27-year-old swimmer told the crowd of current Stone Ridge students watching from the bleachers that they should pursue what they really love.
“Whether that’s a sport, whether that’s a subject in school, whether that’s another extracurricular activity, try to be the very best that you can be at it and enjoy it. Enjoy striving for big goals, the sky’s truly the limit,” Ledecky said.
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