The 2024 Olympics could prove a coronation of sorts for USA swimmer Katie Ledecky, who looks to add to her legacy in the 1,500m event she has so thoroughly dominated over the years.
The 26-year-old is one of America’s greatest individual athletes. She’s far from the only figure in her support system, however. Ledecky comes from a long line of swim stars, two of whom are part of her immediate family.
Ledecky’s family has been a regular sight at Ledecky’s biggest and brightest meets. They’ve bore witness to some of her greatest feats, including her seven gold-medal triumphs in Olympic competition. They’re hoping for a similar return in this year’s tournament, one which Ledecky looks fairly prepared for: she took home the top time in the 1,5000m during Olympic trials earlier in the summer.
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Here’s a look at Ledecky’s famous family tree, from her parents to her uncle and everything in between.
Katie Ledecky family tree
Katie Ledecky’s father: David Ledecky
Ledecky’s father, David, is an attorney who received degrees from Harvard and Yale during his studies before transitioning to a successful career in law.
He and his wife, Mary Gen, instilled a love of education in Katie and her brother, Michael. It’s little surprise the Ledecky children sought vaunted academic institutions for their collegiate education: Katie went to Stanford, while Michael followed in his father’s footsteps, attending Harvard.
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“The way our parents believe in education, it was a no-brainer Katie wasn’t going to turn professional,” Dave Ledecky said of Katie Ledecky’s decision to spurn inquiries into her turning professional back in 2016, per ESPN.
Katie Ledecky’s mother: Mary Gen Ledecky
Much like her daughter, Mary Gen Ledecky found herself in the pool more than most during her youth.
The Williston, N.D. native comes from a swimming-crazed family — Williston’s town pool was named after her father (Katie Ledecky’s grandfather).
Mary Gen took to the family tradition like a moth to flame, emerging as a collegiate-level swimmer of her own. She settled at New Mexico, enjoying a splendid career with the Lobos before embarking on a career as a hospital administrator.
When Katie Ledecky and Michael Ledecky were children, Mary Gen signed them up for a local swim club in their hometown, Bethesda, Md. Given their swimming prowesses, you’d have to imagine the children are grateful for their mother’s intervention in their athletic careers.
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Katie Ledecky’s brother: Michael Ledecky
Like brother, like sister. Katie Ledecky’s rise in the pool was eerily similar to that of her older brother, Michael, who was the first Ledecky child to make waves in Bethesda swim landscape.
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Michael Ledecky is three years older than his sister. He enjoyed a glimmering high school swim career at WCAC powerhouse Gonzaga, even nabbing a top-10 finish in the National Catholic High School Championships’ 100-yard freestyle. He and Katie had a healthy but competitive relationship during their youth. He played a pivotal role in Katie Ledecky’s pursuit of swimming glory from a young age.
“I just always enjoyed swimming with him, and I think that’s how I really found my love of the sport,” Katie Ledecky told WBUR in 2015.
Katie Ledecky’s uncle: Jon Ledecky
Rounding out the Ledecky clan in earnest is Jon Ledecky, one of the wealthiest men in all of hockey. Jon Ledecky is David Ledecky’s brother. He was born in New York City, the son of Jaromir, a Czechoslovakian immigrant who left home for America at 19 to study English at Rutgers.
Jon Ledecky was an impressive student in his own right. And like his brother, David, after Jon’s high school days he attended Harvard, earning plaudits for his work with the school newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, and the college’s go-to radio station, WHRB.
Following his graduation, Jon Ledecky worked at a series of venture capital firms. He eventually opened up his own company, U.S. Office Products, in 1994.
Using the riches he obtained during his business career, Ledecky eventually found a home with NHL’s New York Islanders, purchasing a minority stake with the team in 2014. Following a brief two-year transition period, Ledecky and college roommate Scott D. Malkin nabbed majority shares from the franchise in 2016.
