Athletes stand together. 5-time Olympic Gold medalist and 15-time World Champion swimmer Katie Ledecky is preparing to compete once again on the world’s stage in Tokyo 2020. As she trains to represent the United States, she also revealed to HollywoodLife that she’s inspired by the victorious US Women’s National Soccer Team, who just dominated in the World Cup. As the ladies work toward equal pay within the sport of soccer, Katie said the issue really expands across all women’s sports, and she’s hopeful for change. “I think it’s really exciting what we’ve seen across women’s sports over the past couple of months, the past couple of years,” she told HollywoodLife.com in an EXCLUSIVE interview, in partnership with Built with Chocolate Milk. “Everyone pushing for change, equal pay. It’s really exciting to see everyone kind of coming together and working toward things that should already be in place.”
The award-winning swimmer continued, “I think we’re all aware of the different platforms that we have as athletes, and the opportunities for growth that women’s sports, and even sports in general, can have moving forward over the next couple of years.” In the midst of her hardcore training to compete in the 2020 Olympics, Katie also said that she is in the water about ten times a week for two hours, and then undergoes dry land and weight training workouts, as well. “It’s about 50 weeks in the year of really heavy training. I’m doing everything I can both in and out of the water to be at my very best,” she explained.
Another way Katie ensures her muscles and bones are getting the nutrients she needs is by recovering with chocolate milk! “There’s been a lot of research behind chocolate milk as a great recovery drink for athletes. It Has the perfect ratio of carbs and proteins and it has natural electrolytes that really help you recover,” she revealed. “I really believe in how it’s helped me prepare for the next workout, for the next race.”
As for continuing to represent the USA, Katie called it “such an honor. “I will always remember the first time that I put on an American flag swim cap and got to sing the National Anthem when I won a gold medal,” she said, adding that she still gets “goose bumps talking about it.”
As Tokyo 2020 nears, we hope to see the USWNT and female athletes everywhere continue to push to receive equal pay with their male counterparts.