In August, Ledecky won her record seventh world title in the 800m freestyle, setting a new championship record to beat Australia’s Lani Pallister and Summer McIntosh of Canada.
It looks unlikely that McIntosh will be able to contest the 800m freestyle at LA28 because it has been scheduled straight after the women’s 200m butterfly final, which she won in Paris in a new Olympic record.
Instead, Pallister, who won gold in the 4x200m freestyle at Paris 2024, is set to be Ledecky’s big rival in LA, having recently smashed the US star’s 800m freestyle short course world record.
“I have her autograph sitting at home from 2014 and for a period of time it was my screensaver and it said ‘dream big’,” said the 23-year-old after breaking her record two weeks ago in Ontario.
“So It’s really special that now I’m in my career and I’m racing her. To be someone that’s in a conversation with her and challenging those times is really, really incredible.”
In a change from tradition, swimming will take place at the end of the Games in LA, with athletics at the start. The men’s and women’s medley relays are the final two events of the whole programme.