Katie Grimes: 5 facts about Team USA's teenage phenom set to make Olympic history in the pool and open water
Katie Grimes is set to make American Olympic history in the pool and in the Seine River.
For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up next is Katie Grimes.
Katie Grimes is a special swimmer, and if fans didn’t know her before the 2024 Paris Olympics, they surely will after. The Las Vegas native is an exceptionally versatile distance swimmer — one who will go up against legendary distance swimmer Katie Ledecky — and her swimming goals for the Paris Games go way beyond the pool.
So ahead of the Paris Olympics, here are five things to know about Grimes.
1. At 18 years old, Katie Grimes is already a two-time Olympian
Jul 31, 2021; Tokyo, Japan; Katie Grimes (USA), right) rests next to Katie Ledecky (USA) as Ledecky reacts to winning the women’s 800m freestyle final during the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Summer Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Mandatory Credit: Grace Hollars-USA TODAY Sports
Not unheard of in swimming, but a teenage two-time Olympian is still rare. At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Grimes swam one event — the 800-meter freestyle. She finished fourth behind Ledecky, who won her third straight Olympic championship in the event.
For Paris, Grimes not only dropped the 800 altogether, but she added a wide variety of events to her schedule. But more on that in a second.
2. Grimes will be the first American woman to compete in the pool and open water events at the same Olympic Games
She’s the only swimmer on Team USA’s Olympics roster who is entered in both the 400-meter individual medley and the 1,500-meter freestyle — the longest event in the pool and one that Ledecky is favored to win.
Grimes will also make history as the first American woman to compete in both the pool and open water at the same Olympics.
When the pool competition ends — Grimes’ last potential final is the 1,500 on July 31 — her attention will fully turn to the open water competition, a 10k marathon swim. The 10k open water races are set to happen in the Seine River, but Olympics organizers said they have backup dates and an alternate venue, should the river be too dirty to swim in.
Grimes was the first Team USA athlete to qualify for Paris back in July 2023 when she won bronze in the open water 10k at world championships in Japan.
Incredible versatility when her shortest Olympic race will be less than five minutes while her longest is about two hours.
3. Grimes knows where she’ll swim in college… but we don’t
Katie Grimes of the United States competes in a preliminary heat for the Women’s 400m individual medley on Day Three of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Swimming Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium on June 17, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
At 18 years old, Grimes just graduated from high school and is a coveted recruit with swimming news site SwimSwam ranking her as the top high school swimmer last year.
Grimes recently told For The Win she’s made a decision on college, but she also said she’ll likely wait until after the Olympics to announce it.
4. Grimes is an old soul with a love for classic cars, including her orange 1969 Chevy Corvette Stingray
In addition to her love of classic rock, especially Fleetwood Mac, Grimes is a big fan of classic cars.
“My favorite classic car is the Chevy Corvette Stingray,” Grimes said. “It had been my dream car for so long, and so I’ve been on market looking for one all over the place for, like ever. And I finally found the perfect one, and I was able to buy it. And it’s just so cool to have it, and every time I see it in the garage, I’m like, ‘I can’t believe I have that.'”
5. Grimes’ historic Olympic journey begins on July 29
Swimming at the Paris Olympics starts Saturday, July 27, but Grimes’ first event will be the 400 IM heats (and presumably, final) on Monday, July 29. Her 1,500 heats are set for Tuesday, July 30 with the final the following day. And the women’s open water 10k marathon swim is set for Thursday, August 8.