You are always racing against the other swimmers, but I always try to just focus on what I'm doing and how I want to swim my races.

I think Rowdy Gaines actually said something like: Katie Ledecky doesn't swim like a man. She swims like Katie Ledecky.And that was a good comment. I swim the way I swim. And I take it as a compliment when somebody says I swim like a man, because, as you said, my stroke is kind of taken after what some of the male freestylers have done. But I'm just trying to go as fast as I can go.

And if I'm ahead, I can sometimes tell. It might mean I'm having a good swim, but pretty much, I'm just focused on how fast I'm going, how fast I'm feeling, and pretty much block everything out, the sounds, the sights, just kind of listen to the rhythm of the water, and just maintaining the same stroke, the same rhythm, the same tempo, and thinking about how I want to get my hand to the wall.

I hope that young girls will have the dream and will have experiences. And it might not be in swimming. It might be in something else. But I found a passion, and I love it. It's something I love and something I enjoy. It's something I'm good at. And it's what I have been able to give 100 percent to.

My faith has always been important to me. It defines who I am.

I always just focus on what my own goals are, and not what anybody else's goals for me are or their expectations. I just know that my family will always be supporting me and my friends and my coaches. And as long as I put in the hard work and know that I'm giving it my best effort, I will always be happy.

I try to make the good days great and take something positive from the days I'm not feeling good - work on technique or something like that.