Few athletes achieved more at the Paris Games than swimmer Katie Ledecky. She won four medals, including gold in the 1500-meter freestyle in a new Olympic record of 15:30.02. In the process, she became the most decorated female Olympian ever to compete for Team USA, with 14 total medals to her name.
But the most meaningful accomplishment for her was her final one: winning gold in the 800 meters for the fourth time, making her the only woman ever to four-peat.
“It doesn’t get any easier each time,” Ledecky tells SELF after returning from Paris. “I felt a sense of relief, a sense of excitement, all the emotions at the end of that one. You always want to end on a good note.”
So how, exactly, does an athlete wind down from such an incredible high? Here’s how Ledecky is taking care of her body and mind post-competition, so she can get back to training mentally and physically refreshed.
1. “Pre-covery” is just as important as what comes after.
The preventive game is especially crucial for Ledecky, who was diagnosed with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, in 2015. This condition causes blood to pool in her legs when she stands up, sometimes causing symptoms like dizziness, fainting, or exhaustion.
In addition to staying hydrated and taking in extra sodium, Ledecky controls her symptoms with compression gear to improve circulation. She has a shirt and leggings, but compression socks are what’s most important to keep blood flowing through her legs. She always wears them when she’s traveling long distances (say, on flights from the United States to Paris).
“A lot of people use compression socks on flights anyway,” she says. “Especially as an athlete, it just helps the legs feel better and helps start the recovery on the plane before you even land.”
2. Fueling between races becomes even more vital during a stacked schedule.
Ledecky’s Olympic schedule was grueling—between heats and finals, she swam eight different races across six days, for a total of nearly 6,000 meters. After each one, she did easy laps to “warm down,” swimmer-speak for cooldown.
In addition, she focused on getting protein, carbs, and electrolytes to replenish and prepare for her next race. The best way to do it: in grab-and-go form, because who’s got time for a sit-down meal when the race schedule is beckoning? Ledecky chooses protein shakes—she’s been partnered with Core Power for years—for training and competition.
“It was easy to grab one of those right after my race,” she says. “I would drink it as I was warming down.” Chocolate is her favorite flavor, but she mixed it up with vanilla on occasion. (Fortunately, Team USA had shipped 11,000 Core Power bottles to Paris ahead of time and hauled huge coolers directly to the pool, so one was always right within reach.)
3. Make time for fun and celebrate all the good stuff.
Although this was her fourth Olympics, Ledecky had never stayed for the second week of the Games after swimming concluded. So for the first time, she spectated other events, popping up at men’s and women’s basketball games and golf matches before carrying the flag in the closing ceremony.
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