Katie Ledecky is simply put, one of the greatest swimmers in history.
But while her dominance has been known for more than a decade in the water, outside of being the youngest swimmer at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, her story isn’t well known by many people.
Part of that is because Ledecky has been a little more reserved with media, though that has changed a lot over the years.
Part of it is because there has never been any sort of controversy surrounding her career – not even close.
But her recently released memoir “Just Add Water: My Swimming Life” changes a lot of that.
Despite her half-joking that her brother calls her career “Un ordinarily ordinary” Ledecky put together a captivating memoir.
She details her battle with Postural orthostatice tachycardia syndrome (POTS) which causes your heart rate to go up from sitting or reclining to standing. It affects blood pressure and can pool blood in the vessels below the heart causing dizziness, fainting and exhaustion, though Ledecky said she had a mild form of the syndrome.
Many stories have not been shared before, but what makes this memoir so different and incredible is how much she dives into the people around her.
Ledecky wrote a chapter on each coach she has had, plus her mother, her father, her brother, each of her grandparents – everyone that has had a huge impact on her life.
Whether it be the grandfather who fled Czech Republic to come to the U.S., or the other who fought in four battles in World War II, a special connection with parents and siblings, or a nugget she picked up from a coach, it is a familiar story to a lot of us.
A lot of us feel ordinary.
I know I am one of those people – and I am not using “ordinary” as a cut down by any means.
But I feel like I am living a “normal” life and what might make me interesting is the people around me. From my grandparents overcoming tragedy to my 98-year-old great uncle who fought in Okinawa in World War II, perhaps alongside Ledecky’s grandfather – to the place I work – both Swimming World and the USA Today Network – there are a lot of factors around me that make my career seem more captivating than it probably is.
And that is a good thing.
We all have that.
Ledecky, the greatest swimmer in the world showed in her heartfelt writing that you don’t need to overcome a tragedy or injury or be controversial to have a captivating story.
You just have to know who you are, what is important to you, and for Ledecky, that is clearly the people she surrounds herself with.
What a refreshing read that will have everyone interested in those people for Ledecky, while they are also thinking about those people in their own lives.
Very few memoirs have that theme – and this one is worth the read.
And now I want to read this.
I joined the Navy in the 70s and I often thought that I was an ordinary woman with extraordinary opportunities. I wrote my story for my children and I ended it believing everyone has a story worth telling.
Certainly, Katie’s story is extraordinary and I am not surprised it features those relationships most important to her. I look forward to the read.
What an excellent review of a memoir of a delightful and astonishing athlete. I can’t wait to read more about lovely and definitely “unordinary” Katie Ledecky.
Wonderful book!
I hope that when her record breaking swimming career is over, she will consider being an advocate for further research into POTS.
While her condition is fortunately mild, many others with POTS are disabled. The research into the cause and effective treatments has been dismal- the NIH has given less than 33 cents per patient.
We need a champion like Katie!!!