Even before Katie Ledecky made her name as a world-class swimmer, she was already rubbing shoulders with Michael Jordan. In fact, she could be seen playing peek-a-boo with His Airness in a video from over two decades ago that has now gone viral. The adorable clip featuring her and the six-time NBA champion resurfaced on social media after her exploits at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In the video, a three-year-old Ledecky is seen enjoying a bucket of popcorn in the VIP box at the Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals. Jordan, who was sitting behind the future Olympian, was engrossed in a conversation before he noticed her and decided to have a little fun.
He played peek-a-boo with Ledecky, who was amused by his shenanigans. The charming moment between the two was captured on camera. The swimmer had shared it on her social media profile back in 2020 ahead of the release of episodes three and four of Netflix’s The Last Dance documentary. She had captioned the post,
“Grabbing my popcorn for tonight’s episodes of #TheLastDance. I can tell you one thing about Michael Jordan: he’s a tough peek-a-boo player but he didn’t stand a chance against my popcorn.”
Their meeting at the VIP stand was pretty fateful. Her uncle, Jon Ledecky, was a minority owner of the Capitals at the time, while Jordan had just bought a stake in the Wizards. Little did the retired NBA superstar know that the kid he was playing with would go on to become one of the greatest American athletes ever.
Ledecky, who made her Olympic debut in London 2012 at the age of 15, returned home with a gold medal after winning the 1500-metre freestyle event. Four years later, she went Rio Olympics as one of the best swimmers in the world and won three gold medals, establishing herself as one of her nation’s greatest female athletes at only 19.
Two more gold medals at Tokyo 2020 saw her become only the ninth Olympian from the US to stand atop the podium seven times. Her win in the 1500-meter freestyle event in Paris earlier this week saw her capture her 13th Olympic medal, which ranks joint-fifth on the all-time medals tally.
Ledecky will compete in two more events before flying back home from France and is expected to win a medal in both. However, if the 27-year-old wins gold in both events, she’ll become the second-most successful Olympian in history with 10 gold medals, only behind Michael Phelps, who holds the record with 23.
Jordan’s status as the greatest ever in his sport is often disputed. But Ledecky’s legacy as the GOAT female swimmer is already etched in stone.