For three-time Olympian Katie Ledecky, her incredible journey to winning four more Olympic medals at the Summer Games in Tokyo began many years ago and winds through several roads.
Among them are two Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington, a few area pools and the tight-knit community of her Bethesda hometown.
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, where she graduated from high school in 2015, gave Ledecky a hero’s welcome Sept. 17. She stopped by the all-girls Catholic school in Bethesda to share stories of her recent Olympic experience, of how she became a remarkable distance swimmer and to encourage the students in their future aspirations.
But most of all, she wanted to convey her deep gratitude for the lessons she was taught and the support she received from Stone Ridge going back almost a decade ago when she first hit the world’s stage in international swimming competitions.