"I am very honored and grateful to receive this recognition from the U.S. Olympic Committee and also wish to thank USA Swimming and all of the fans who supported Team USA throughout the year," Ledecky said. "Thanks also to my coaches and teammates--all of whom make it such a privilege to compete for Team USA and Stanford."
Ledecky is the first three-time winner (2012-13, 2016, 2017) of the USOC's annual Female Athlete of the Year award since its inception in 1974. She joins Lindsay Vonn (2009 and 2010) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1986 and 1987) as the only other female athletes to receive the award in consecutive years. Other two-time winners of the award (non-consecutively) were Tracy Caulkins, Bonnie Blair, Picabo Street, and Katie Hoff.
A native of Bethesda, Maryland, Ledecky had arguably the best freshmen season in the history of collegiate swimming. Over the course of her first year at Stanford, Ledecky set five individual American records and seven individual NCAA records in three different events, and broke Stanford team records in five different individual events en route to five All-America honors. She became just the second freshman to win the Honda Cup. In addition, she won six medals at the world championships to become the most decorated female swimmer in worlds history.
Ledecky and Stanford went 3-0 in dual meets during the Fall and resume competition with a pair of home meets against Arizona (Jan. 19) and Arizona State (Jan. 20). The team will host an autograph session after the meet against Arizona State.
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