STANFORD, Calif. - Sophomore swimming standout Katie Ledecky announced on Monday that she will forego her final two years of NCAA athletic eligibility at Stanford and will pursue professional opportunities.
Ledecky plans to continue her training and classes at Stanford as she prepares for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.
"I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to train and swim collegiately for two years alongside some of the greatest women swimmers of this generation—swimmers who are not just great athletes, but great people as well," Ledecky said. "I am equally excited about the opportunities and challenges ahead as I continue to compete internationally and further my education."
"We are really excited for Katie as she moves on to the next stage of her career as a professional athlete," said Stanford's Paul A. Violich Director of Women's Swimming Greg Meehan. "This is the right time for this transition, and we are thrilled she will continue her training at Stanford. Over the past two years, Katie has achieved unprecedented levels of success in the pool, but it's her impact on our program as a whole which we will remember most. Katie brought a new level of training to our team, and helped the distance group become the most formidable in the country. I am most proud of Katie for embracing what it means to be a great teammate and a true student-athlete."
Ledecky is a Scholar All-American and Pac-12 All-Academic first-team honoree as well as a two-time Olympian, five-time Olympic gold medalist, 14-time World champion and eight-time NCAA champion. In her two years at Stanford, she helped lead the Cardinal to back-to-back national championships, including the program's first NCAA title in 19 years.
The Bethesda, Maryland, native was the second freshman to win the CWSA Honda Cup as the top female collegiate athlete in the nation. As a collegian, she broke American records 11 times, NCAA records 15 times and NCAA meet records six times.
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