Katie Ledecky meets Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster and Elmo at Paris Games

Katie Ledecky was once again the hot ticket event in swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as the 27-year-old American swimmer added to her decorated Olympic career.
But somehow through all that, Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster and Elmo were able to snag a photo with the now nine-time Olympic gold medal champion after she completed her 2024 Paris Olympics program.
Talk about a collaboration and photo some might not have had on their Paris Olympics Bingo Card.
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“Can confirm, a ninth gold medal tastes as good as the first. Congratulations Ms.@KatieLedecky! #ParisOlympics,” Sesame Street wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.
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The Bethesda, Maryland native responded in a rather Sesame Street way.
“C is for Cookie… that’s good enough for me,” Ledecky wrote on X.
There is no question that Ledecky’s success in the pool has inspired future generations of female swimmers, as she has set record after record. So much so that Elmo, who has become quite the X user in recent months, said he was inspired by Ledecky.
“We love you, Ms.@katieledecky! Elmo wants to be a great swimmer just like you one day!” Elmo wrote on X.
The Paris Games were a historic Olympic Games for Ledecky. After winning gold Saturday in the women’s 800-meter freestyle on Saturday, she surpassed Jenny Thompson as the winningest American female Olympic athlete at with her ninth Olympic gold medal. She also joined Thompson, Dara Torres and Natalie Coughlin in the 12 Olympic medal club for United States female swimmers after winning the 1500-meter freestyle on Wednesday.
Additionally, on Saturday in the women’s 800-meter freestyle, widely considered as one of her specialty events, Ledecky became the first female swimmer to win the same swimming event in four consecutive Olympic Games. As previously reported by USA TODAY, legendary male swimmer Michael Phelps is the only other Olympic athlete to do so in one swimmer event.
“I hope that I’ll look back on it with the same amount of joy and happiness that I feel right now,” Ledecky said.
Ledecky now shifts her focus to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where she is a member of the board of directors for the Summer Olympics.
Ledecky added four combined Olympic medals to her resume at the 2024 Paris Olympics, giving her a total of 14 Olympic medals in four Olympic Games. Here’s a full breakdown of how Ledecky fared in the 2024 Paris Olympics: