At just 27 years old, Katie Ledecky is already considered by many to be the greatest female swimmer of all time. With so many accolades, accomplishments, and historic performances to her name, its often challenging to fully grasp the extent of her greatness. So, let's parse it all out.

As Ledecky gears up for her fourth Olympic Games in Paris, get up to speed with what she has accomplished so far. 

Katie Ledecky made her Olympic debut as a 15-year-old at the 2012 London Olympics, winning gold in her only event, the women's 800m freestyle. She then competed at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The Paris Games will be her fourth Olympic appearance.

Across three Olympic Games, Katie Ledecky has amassed 10 total medals, including seven gold medals. The medals she has won are as follows:

Her six gold medals in individual events are the most by any woman in Olympic swimming history. She is one gold medal shy of tying Jenny Thompson's mark as the winningest female swimmer ever at the Olympics and two shy of matching the all-time record for gold medals won by a female Olympian in any sport.

In addition to her Olympic success, Ledecky also hold the record for the most individual swimming world championship titles won with 16, surpassing Michael Phelps' tally by one.

Katie Ledecky currently holds the world record in two events, the women's 800m freestyle (8 minutes, 4.79 seconds) and the women's 1500m freestyle (15:20.48). She is also a former world record holder in the women's 400m freestyle.

In total, Ledecky has broken a world record 14 different times, the majority of which have involved surpassing a mark she herself previously held.

Katie Ledecky's record of dominance at the highest levels of swimming has her firmly at the top of the conversation of the greatest female swimmer of all time. With another triumphant performance at the Paris Olympics this summer, she could potentially end the debate once-and-for-all. 

Michael Phelps, with his 23 Olympic gold medals, may never be surpassed as the greatest swimmer of all time, regardless of gender. But while Phelps and other swimming greats like Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi, Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Lochte, and Thompson all specialized mainly in the short-to-middle distance events, Ledecky is unmatched in terms of her success in events 400m and longer. She is comfortably the greatest distance swimmer of all time, regardless of gender.

In major competition (Olympics and world championships) Katie Ledecky has never lost a race in either the 800m freestyle (9-0) or the 1500m freestyle (6-0).