As her last swim meet was wrapping up 12 months ago this week, Katie Ledecky was asked about the headlines that seemed to be getting bigger and scarier each day, casting some uncertainty on at least the near future, in and out of the pool.

“I’m following it all,” she said then. “Mostly to make sure I’m doing things I need to be doing. In terms of how it will affect the next couple of months: We’re all preparing like everything will go on as scheduled.”

Of course, within weeks, the coronavirus outbreak escalated to a full-blown pandemic. Read More