At first glance, it may seem like a coincidence that two of the United States’ elite female swimmers both grew up in Montgomery County in Maryland, attended Little Flower School in Bethesda, then swam for the high school team at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, also in Bethesda, and are now U.S. Olympic teammates bound for the 2021 Tokyo summer games.

 For soon-to-be three-time Olympian Katie Ledecky and Phoebe Bacon, swimming in her first Olympics, being on a similar life’s journey is much more than one of those “It’s such a small world” fluke stories, but rather represents many shared, God-given talents that give them a drive to persevere and to excel, enabling them to reach the pinnacle of their sport.

 Although they are almost six years apart in age, Ledecky’s and Bacon’s athletic, academic and Catholic faith paths have intertwined throughout their young lives. They have in common several of the same educators and coaches, as well as the same pastor from their home parish.

 In interviews with the Catholic Standard, they describe both Ledecky, 24, and Bacon, 18, as extraordinarily dedicated, hard-working and faith-filled young ladies who can count on their alma maters and all those in the Archdiocese of Washington community as among their proudest and biggest supporters.

“We’ve had the honor and joy of watching Katie and Phoebe evolve as athletes for a very long time. When they compete in Tokyo, the world will witness their incredible strength as the athletes they are today, but we’ve had the unique opportunity to watch step by step, year over year, what it takes to become an Olympian,” said Catherine Ronan Karrels, head of Stone Ridge School.

 Karrels said she admires the remarkable fortitude and commitment both athletes put into their swimming from a very young age, a true reflection of their love and passion for the sport. 

“Despite all the hard work, including early hours, rigorous training schedules, and the juggling of many responsibilities, I have never heard either of these women complain,” she said. “They show us by example the type of commitment and attitude it takes to achieve excellence in whatever we pursue – whether that is athletics, academics, service work, or whatever our passions may be.” Ledecky graduated from Stone Ridge in 2015 and Bacon graduated last year in 2020.

Ledecky and Bacon are now in Honolulu, Hawaii with the U.S. Swim Team training for the biggest swimming events in their lives and on the world’s stage. 

 Karrels reflects on her favorite memories of the girls, which she said, are indicative their mutual commitment to teamwork – both in and out of the pool. 

“Swimming is all about personal times and achieving your personal goals, but both Katie and Phoebe always emphasized their commitment to and the importance of being on a team while at Stone Ridge,” Karrels said. 

 She also shared how their distinct personalities shine through in everything they do in life. “Katie comes back to visit us often, and she is the embodiment of a gracious and humble champion. She always demonstrates through her actions the importance of academics, family, service to community, and faith.”

“Phoebe,” she said, “embraces life with an explosive energy and abundant good vibes. Her positivity and joie de vivre are contagious. They have both been great role models not only for our students, but for all of us.”

In 2012, then-15-year-old Ledecky swam in her first Olympics in London, stunning her competition, breaking long-held records and bringing home her first gold medal for winning the 800-meter freestyle swimming race. Four years later, at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, she won five more medals – four gold in freestyle races for the 200, 400 and 800-meters, (breaking her own world records in the 400 and 800-meter races) and for the 4x200-meter freestyle relay and one silver in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay, becoming the most decorated female athlete of the 2016 games. She went on to swim for Stanford University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2020.

Once the youngest Olympian on Team USA nine years ago, Ledecky is now considered a legend and the sport’s most dominant female swimmer. Last month at the U.S. Olympic Swim Team trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Ledecky became the first American woman to qualify to swim the 1500-meter freestyle at an Olympic games. Also at the mid-June trials, she qualified to swim freestyle at the Tokyo games in the 200-meter, 400-meter and 800-meter races, as well as the 4x200-meter freestyle relay race. 

The Olympic swimming events will be held July 24 to Aug. 1. NBC will be the primary Olympic broadcaster with daily coverage beginning Friday, July 23 until Sunday, Aug. 8. 

Bacon is a two-time medalist in the 2019 Pan American Games (100-meter backstroke and 4x100-meter relay), a gold medal winner in the 2018 Junior Pan Pacific Championship, and a three-time U.S. National team member. She attends the University of Wisconsin, and swims under Coach Yuri Suguiyama, a former coach of Ledecky’s at Nation’s Capital Swim Club, where both girls swam year round as youngsters. At the Olympic trials, Bacon earned a place on Team USA by coming in second in the 200-meter backstroke. She touched the wall at 2:06.46 in a tight race, beating Regan Smith, the world-record holder and two-time world champion, who came in third. 

Two current Stone Ridge students, Erin Gemmell and Eleanor Sun, both members of the Class of 2023, also competed at the U.S. Swim Team trials, but did not make the Olympic team this year.

Stone Ridge swim coach Bob Walker describes coaching the future Olympians on the school’s Gator swim team as a “blessing” and their success as an “amazing journey” to be a part of. “Both girls are wonderful people. You couldn’t tell they are these elite athletes. They are just the most polite and pleasant people from great families,” he said.

 The younger child and only daughter of David and Mary Gen Ledecky, Katie Ledecky was inspired to take up swimming at a young age by watching her older brother, Michael, swim for their Bethesda neighborhood pool’s swim team, the Palisades Porpoises. Phoebe Bacon, grew up in Chevy Chase and is one of four children of Timothy and Philippa Bacon.

Coach Walker humbly downplays his role in their personal swimming achievements, recalling high school swim meets in which they set records (Ledecky and Bacon hold three of the all-time fastest individual race times ever recorded in high school swim events) and led Stone Ridge to several metro championships. “I just put them in a lineup,” he said. “It was their own dedication...When it’s time for competition, they just turn it up a notch, crank it up full blast and do great things in their sport.”

In a 2012 interview with the Catholic Standard, prior to heading off to the London games, Ledecky said her Catholic faith is very important to her, and she says a prayer while warming up for an event, which helps calm any nerves. “I always pray right before a race,” she said. “The prayer I say is the Hail Mary.” Ledecky also credited the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who formerly ran Little Flower School and taught her, describing them as “great role models and were a big part of my faith growing up.”

 During their years together at Little Flower School, Ledecky was matched up as a school “buddy” to kindergarten-age Bacon, thus beginning their interwoven paths, with Ledecky going on to become a serious mentor to the younger swimmer.

Recalling when her buddy won Olympic gold in 2012, Bacon, almost 10 years old at the time, recently told the Washington Post, “That was kind of eye opening to me. This young girl from the same area, same schools that I’ve been going to made her dreams come true. I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”

 Loretta Favret, principal of Little Flower School, said the students, from pre-K to eighth grade, and the families of the girls’ elementary school alma mater are thrilled for the Olympic-bound alumnae. Ledecky graduated from Little Flower in 2011, and Bacon in 2016.

“What a great example of what you can achieve with hard work and perseverance,” she said, adding that the parish priests and the Immaculate Heart of Mary sisters, who continue to live in the school’s convent, enjoyed watching the recent U.S. Olympic Swim Team trials on television. “The nuns are particularly fired up.”

Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi, pastor of Church of the Little Flower in Bethesda where the Ledecky and Bacon families are parishioners, praised the young athletes for being great representatives of the Little Flower community. “We are so very proud of these two daughters of our parish and school,” he said. “We are all praying for them.”

Near the entrance to the Little Flower campus, a large sign can be seen by passersby on Massachusetts Avenue congratulating Bacon and Ledecky on qualifying for the U.S. Swim Team at the Tokyo Olympics.

On Monday, July 19, Stone Ridge will host a pep rally for the school community to show their love and support for the Olympians. Unfortunately with the time difference in Tokyo, live-viewing gatherings for the swimmers’ individual events are not possible. However, the school is encouraging their fans to cheer them on through social media.  At the rally, there will be Olympic T-shirts available, cards to sign and the opportunity to send video messages to the athletes.

“We also hope they can come to campus after the Olympics are over so we can congratulate them in person,” said Karrels.