Simone Biles And Katie Ledecky Poised To Make Olympic History In Paris 2024

The 2024 Summer Olympics are set to commence on Friday, July 26 in Paris, featuring two of the United States’ most renowned athletes.

Katie Ledecky, a swimmer, and Simone Biles, a gymnast, were born just three days apart and have consistently dominated at the Olympics. Despite their already impressive accomplishments in their respective sports, both athletes have much at stake in Paris 2024.

Ledecky’s Olympic journey will kick off on July 27 with the 400m freestyle event. She is expected to compete in four events total, including the 1500m freestyle, the 4x200m freestyle relay, and the 800m freestyle. As the most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history, Ledecky has amassed six individual gold medals, one in 2012, three in 2016, and two in 2020. Additionally, she holds a gold medal from a relay event. If Ledecky secures just one more gold medal, she will tie Jenny Thompson as the female swimmer with the most Olympic gold medals. Thompson achieved her eight gold medals solely through relay teams from 1992-2000.

While Ledecky may not approach the 28 Olympic medals held by Michael Phelps anytime soon, her acquisition of three more medals, regardless of color, would make her the most decorated American female Olympian across all sports. Currently, she has won 10 medals, placing her behind swimmers Jenny Thompson, Dara Torres, and Natalie Coughlin (12 medals each) as well as track star Allyson Felix (11 medals). Reaching a total of 13 medals would position her just behind Phelps for the highest number of medals ever won by an American athlete, regardless of gender.

Biles, on the other hand, holds the record for the most Olympic gold medals (four) among American gymnasts. Furthermore, she shares the record for the most overall medals (seven) with Shannon Miller, another gymnast from the United States. Though Biles, at 27 years old, is set to become the oldest female American gymnast to compete in the Olympics since 1952, she aspires to achieve more than just age-related milestones in her career.

If Biles secures one more gold medal, she will tie male gymnast Anton Heida for the highest number of Olympic gold medals won by any American gymnast. Additionally, her total of five gold medals would be tied for the third-highest among all female gymnasts globally, regardless of nationality. Only Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska (seven) and the Soviet Union’s Larisa Latynina (nine) have achieved higher numbers. Notably, Biles is set to compete in six events, and if she wins gold in five of them (as she nearly did in 2016, securing four golds and one bronze), she would emerge from Paris 2024 tied for the most Olympic gold medals won by any female athlete, across all sports, pending Ledecky’s performance.