Katie Ledecky Delivers Stanford Commencement Address with 2012 Olympic Story
Katie Ledecky on Sunday delivered the Commencement address at her alma mater Stanford, one in which she shared a story of her first Olympic triumph in 2012.
Ledecky was voted by Stanford undergraduates to give the speech. The most decorated American female Olympian in history graduated from Stanford in 2020 with a degree in psychology and a minor in political science.
Ledecky, 28, brought a stopwatch to the lectern with her, illustrating the 104 million seconds many undergrads have spent in Palo Alto as a measure of how time flies. She crafted her speech around the theme of “pacing, process and time” as a means to “going the distance in life.”
Ledecky told a story about her first Olympics in 2012, when she won gold in an American record in the 800 freestyle as a 15-year-old. She was the unknown challenger then, trying to mentally transmute the chants by the London audience of “Bec-ky, Bec-ky” for reigning champion Rebecca Adlington into “Le-dec-ky, Le-dec-ky” in her mind.
Ledecky famously took that race out fast – unsustainably fast in the eyes of commentators and even her own coaches. She recalled an on-deck interaction with U.S. coach Jon Urbanchek afterward.
“After my win, coach Urbanchek comes up to me with a befuddled look on his face and says, ‘you didn’t follow the plan,’” she said. “Then he gives me a big hug and says, ‘but that’s OK.’”
She watched back the coverage of her race while in London and was amazed at the reaction to how quickly she started the race. She’s taken it as a lesson to follow her internal compass throughout her career.
“You’ll have people tell you to pace yourself, try not to rush, you’re still young,” she said. “And that might be the right advice. But I also want you to consider when being young and unknown might be an advantage. Go fast when you need to go fast. It’s easy to hear the voices telling you to pace yourself and take the foot off the pedal. But I’ve found that once you start fast, you can go further than you think you can.
“So I say to you today, listen to your coaches, listen to your family members, listen to your mentors and bosses, but also listen to yourself. Don’t be afraid to take the lead. Sometimes you just have to go for it and see what you’re capable of.”
Ledecky also used the recent world record she set in the 800 and a 3:56 in the 400 free, both at the TYR Pro Swim Series, as a rhetorical point. She has long enjoyed the process of improvement in her career. She cautioned against measuring yourself against others, which is why she sets her goals against the clock.
“I chase goals times, not my past self,” she said. “I stay focused on my pacing, my technique and the effort it will take to reach those goals. The real race is always the same. It’s me against my goals.”
