Katie Ledecky’s viral swimming video is stunning feat of human ingenuity – and might be more impressive than her history-making Olympics
There's nothing Katie Ledecky can't do in a swimming pool.
Really.
4
The legendary US athlete recently became the most decorated female Olympic swimmer of all time with a virtuoso performance at the Paris La Defense Arena.
One day after winning gold in the women’s 1,500-meter race at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Ledecky captured her 13th Olympic medal -- - eight golds, four silvers and a bronze -- with a second-place finish in the women’s 4x200 freestyle.
While undeniably impressive, those achievements may not be as impressive as one viral video of her swimming with a glass of chocolate milk on her head.
The video first emerged while she was training for the Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021. Footage shows the then- 24-year-old swimming in the Stanford University pool with a glass of chocolate milk perfectly balanced on her head.
READ MORE OLYMPICS
Remarkably, Ledecky manages to swim an entire length of the pool without spilling a single drop of milk into the water.
The clip resurfaced amid her recent Olympics heroics, with one fan writing: "This video of Kathleen Ledecky balancing chocolate milk on her head while swimming is more impressive to me than her seven Olympic gold medals."
"THE FORM IS INCREDIBLE," posted one fan.
"I can't even do this while walking...this is amazing," commented another.
Most read in Olympics
The incredible clip came about after the 27-year-old was approached by the iconic Got Milk team to help promote the drink.
The American first shared the video with the caption: “Possibly one of the best swims of my career! (~open for debate~) What can you do without spilling a drop?! Check out the #gotmilkchallenge on TikTok. #gotmilk#ad.
4
4
4
“The Got Milk team told me they were launching this campaign and asked if I’d be up for trying to something fun in the pool,” Ledecky told . “They kind of left it up to me to see what I could do. I said, ‘Let me get in the pool and play around a little bit’.”
She also revealed that a huge factor in swimming to the other side of the pool without spilling a drop was that she got to drink it afterwards.
“I think a lot of people see it, and they of course think that I’m trying not to drop the cup,” Ledecky told “But I was also trying not to get any water in the cup because I wanted to drink it afterwards. I didn’t want to ruin the milk.”
talkSPORT explain how the scoring of Olympic Diving is done ahead of Paris 2024
She also explained that the balancing act was made possible by creating a nest with her hair and swim cap.
“I really wasn’t sure it would even work. I didn’t know if it’d sit on my head."
Ledecky made her Olympic debut at the 2012 London Games, where she won gold in the 800-meter freestyle. She has since appeared at the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Games, winning 13 medals, tying compatriot Michael Phelps as the only swimmers to do so (Phelps has 28 Olympic medals in total).
She had to settle for silver as Australia won the 4x200m freestyle relay on Thursday night, but has the women's 800 metres free on Saturday (which she holds the world record in) where she can win her ninth gold.
Nine gold medals would put her level with former Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's record haul for a female Olympian from any sport.
But could Latynina perform with a glass of milk on her head?
Topics