Friday night in the White House, Katie Ledecky  was honoured when President Joe Biden placed the Presidential Medal of Freedom around her neck. 

President Biden showed his admiration for the 27-year-old freestyler, hailing her as arguably the greatest female swimmer—something that resonates with the 81-year-old U.S. President. 

"Don't let age get in your way," Mr. Biden said. "Katie, age is just a number, kid." 

Katie's reaction? "I was speechless."

"It was pretty surreal," Ledecky told Sports Illustrated about her Friday night in Washington, D.C. "Just listening to all the accomplishments and all the impact that all of these individuals have made on our country was pretty inspiring. I think being young still, it does inspire me to continue to work really hard, both in the pool and out."

Image Source: U.S. Olympic gold medal swimmer Katie Ledecky arrives at the White House for the Presidential Medal of Freedom award night (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Joining Ledecky, who was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up just miles up the road from her nation's capital in Bethesda, Maryland, were a distinguished group of 18 other nominees that included former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, actor Michelle Yeoh, and the late civil rights icon Medgar Evers. 

“Obviously, growing up in this area, I know what a huge honour this is,” Ledecky told The Washington Post. “I feel very connected to this area. I know this is a national kind of award, but to me it feels almost local. I get to come home for this for a couple of days. This is my community.”

Image Source: Katie Ledecky racing to 800m freestyle gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Ledecky burst onto the international sporting scene as a 15-year-old at the London 2012 Olympics, where she won gold in the Women's 800m Freestyle. The reigning World Record holder in the 800m and 1500m in both the 50m and 25m pool, Ledecky is currently training in Florida with coach Anthony Nesty to make her fourth Olympics for Team USA at the Paris 2024 Games. 

Image Source: Katie Ledecky signs autographs in April 2024 at a swim meet in San Antonia, Texas (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

"I want to represent our team well in the pool and also help the younger swimmers coming up on these teams, make sure that they're feeling comfortable and confident. I'm really excited for this summer," Ledecky told Sports Illustrated. "(I'm) continuing to put in the work. I got my swim in this morning."

While Ledecky is the first swimmer awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, don't expect her to rub it in the next time she sees fellow Maryland native Michael Phelps. 

"He still has way more (Olympic) medals than I do," Ledecky said.