Olympic Swimmer Katie Ledecky on Athletes Leading the Mental Health Conversation

Katie Ledecky is enjoying some much-needed downtime after finishing her run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. And while she’s focusing on giving her body a break, she also knows the importance of taking care of her mental health as well. 

PureWow recently sat down with the 24-year-old swimming champion, who now has the most individual gold medals of any female U.S. Olympian ever, to chat about her latest partnership with BIC Soleil Razors for its “Game On” campaign. The initiative focuses on the importance of having self-confidence and not being afraid to show it in hopes to inspire others. 

During the interview, the gold medalist opened up about sharing her recent accomplishments with those closest to her. 

“It’s a great feeling and I'm enjoying the time now just being with family and friends and sharing the medals and the moments and all of the experiences with them,” Ledecky revealed. “It's really just a symbol of all of the hard work and I hope that in Tokyo I was able to inspire others, inspire some young kids.” 

The three-time Olympian also took time to comment on the recent shift in athletes—like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka—speaking publicly about the importance of putting their mental health first. 

“I think mental health and physical health go hand in hand,” she continued. “I majored in psychology at Stanford—I just graduated and so I know the importance of mental health and its impact on performance and I think it's really important to prioritize it. It's awesome that athletes are at the forefront of leading this conversation and reminding people that it’s OK to ask for help and its ok to take a step back and prioritize what you need to do to be your best self and be confident in what you know you need to be your best each day.” 

We couldn’t agree more. 

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