Katie Ledecky is grateful for the fan love she has received.
On Monday, July 5, the Olympic swimmer appeared on Today and spoke about the young fan who went viral for cheering her on at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“Yeah so, [there are] many American fans in the stands and so many little kids,” Ledecky told Today. “A lot of them were dressed up really cute and waving to us and had posters. So I was trying to wave as many of them as I could and it made this one girl’s day.”
“Madden, we FaceTimed yesterday,” she added. “It was great, she was excited and I’m sure that I will find a way to meet up sometime when I’m back in the States.”
The little girl, named Madden, went viral on Wednesday, July 31 after Ledecky won gold during the 1500-meter freestyle at the Paris Olympic Games, per the outlet.
In a video shared on X (formerly Twitter), Madden was captured waving at the gold medalist before her eyes lit up after Ledecky waved back.
“She waved at me!,” the fan appeared to tell the person next to her as she stood and yelled in complete shock. She then pretended to faint, falling back into her chair before standing up again.
“Katie Ledecky just made this girl’s life. #ParisOlympics,” the post’s caption read.
Meanwhile, Madden spoke to Access Hollywood in a video shared on August 2, about how she was feeling when Ledecky waved at her.
“It was so cool,” she said. “I could say I’m speechless, yes, I’m speechless.”
Opening up about her admiration for the Olympic athlete, Madden said, “She’s so inspiring and she’s like the best swimmer ever.”
“She’s even better than Michael Phelps, I think,” she added. “She’s inspired me to be as best as I can and I hope I would beat one of her records and be better than her one day.”
