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Yes! Yes! Yes! in Rio
- Updated: August 23, 2016
Moments after Katie Ledecky had shattered a world record at the Rio Olympics, and moments after her uncle, New York Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky, had finished jumping up and down for joy, the two shared a special moment.
Katie spotted her uncle in the crowd at the Aquatic Center, put both of her hands up and did the Yes! Yes! Yes! chant.
“It was a special moment,” Jon Ledecky said. “It was a very sweet thing to do and we have that connection, which is terrific. She has become a huge Islanders fan.”
Katie’s become such a big fan that the only thing that ever caused her to break her intensely regimented training schedule was Islanders’ playoff hockey. Katie stayed up through Alan Quine’s double-OT winner even though it meant showing up to the pool tired before a seven-hour practice.
“You can’t get more excited as an uncle for someone who’s willing to break training because of her desire to see the team win,” said Jon Ledecky, who gets hockey texts from his niece all season long.
Her coach told her not to do it again, but two nights later the Islanders went back to double-overtime and she stayed with them every step of the way.
Katie’s interest in the Islanders rivals Jon’s interest in her swimming. He flew down to Rio for the games and was there in person to watch her win four gold medals and a silver.
“It was a surreal experience because I remember the day Katie was born,” Jon Ledecky said. “To think about this young lady from the first day of her life to having four gold medals put around her neck with a silver to boot was surreal.”
It’s safe to say that Sound Tigers/Islanders owner, Jon Ledecky is PUMPED about his niece Katie’s Gold Medal win! pic.twitter.com/eMyF6nr1yW
— The Sound Tigers (@TheSoundTigers) August 10, 2016
Jon Ledecky can’t take credit for teaching her to swim, though he did introduce Katie’s parents. He also can’t take credit for how hard Katie worked for that opportunity, relentlessly training and training and then training some more. That wasn’t lost on the Islanders, who can appreciate long hours and a lifetime of …
continue reading in source islanders.nhl.com
