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Louise Thomas
Editor
In the wake of Katie Ledecky’s July 31 victory, one young fan erupted in a storm of emotions, screaming in shock for the Team USA swimmer at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The 27-year-old female swimmer took home the gold on Wednesday after competing in the 1500-meter freestyle race, and her biggest fan was in the stadium watching. Amid the crowd’s cheers, one young girl stood out for her exaggerated facial expressions of disbelief and excitement.
In footage that surfaced online, the little blonde-haired girl appeared speechless, her jaw dropped as Ledecky exited the pool, confirming her first-place spot. The little girl donned two Dutch braids with red and blue streaks peeking through and a red Team USA T-shirt as she gripped the side of an American flag.
Her mouth extended open as her eyes widened, watching Ledecky head out of the water after she was announced the winner. “Oh my god,” she appeared to mouth. “Wooooo.” Yelling at the top of her lungs, the little girl fell back in her chair with nothing more to say.
The video caption on X, formerly known as Twitter, read: “Katie Ledecky just made this girl’s life.” With more than one million views on X alone, viewers took to the comments, obsessing over the young fan’s reaction.
“Such a lucky fan. An amazing moment she will remember forever,” one X user wrote, while another added: “I wish I could bottle up this unbridled joy.”
Some viewers fawned over the little girl’s look and predicted she may be an Olympic competitor one day.
One person quipped: “I’m gonna feel real old when NBC shows this girl winning gold in 15 years and shows this clip. You know it’s coming.”
“I’ll buy cereal with that little girl on a box,” a fourth noted. One viewer begged: “Someone please find a way to get this girl to meet her hero.”
On Instagram, Natalie Coughlin, the 12-time Olympic swimmer gold-medalist, commented: “I couldn’t love this anymore. So cute!!!”
“How amazing it must feel to see someone who idealizes you like that and for the young girl to have someone who you look up to is kind,” a touched Instagram user remarked.
Ledecky grabbed gold on July 31 and set a new event record, finishing at 15:30.02. Now, the top competitor has 12 gold medals, the same number as Coughlin, the most out of Team USA’s female swimmers.
Next to a carousel of pictures of her with the Paris 2024 gold medal, Ledecky wrote on Instagram: “Got a little excited last night. Thanks to everyone who has played a part in this one.”
The top swimmer will compete in the 800-meter freestyle on August 2, and the 4x200-meter freestyle on August 1. Ledecky won the bronze medal for the women’s 400-meter freestyle, too.
