Katie Ledecky on Playing Peek-a-Boo with Michael Jordan and Viral Fan Moment at Paris Olympics

-Katie Ledecky, welcome back to "The Tonight Show." And, man, you brought some friends with you. Wow! Can I hold one or just feel it? Wow. This is -- Oh, my gosh. Does this hurt your neck? -A little bit. -A little bit, yeah. -That's okay. -You were unbelievable, pal. I'm so happy. Thank you for coming back to the show. Congrats on the book. This is -- I was just rooting for you -- we all were during the Olympics, and you made us so proud. -Thank you. -You made this country so proud. You made -- Everyone who has, like -- Anyone who wants to be in sports and an athlete you made proud. You won your ninth gold medal of your career in Paris. Nine. Nine gold medals. [ Cheers and applause ] And you became the first woman to win the same individual event at four straight Olympic Games. What?! That's insane! Have you taken time to let it sink in and enjoy it at all? -A little bit. You know, I knew that I had to come here and hear The Roots sing their little jingle for me. I don't know if you remember, but three years ago, they sang it, and it's been a household song in the Ledecky household. So to help it sink in a little more, I had to come here and see you. -Well, you're the best. You also visited your grandmother last week, who must be so proud of you. Here's a picture of you and grandma. -Yep. -Oh, my gosh. -98 years old. 98 years young. -Is she 98? -98. -98 years -- Hi, grandma. Also, when you won your ninth gold medal, by the way, I think it was on August 3rd, which was 12 years exactly from the day that you won your first gold medal. And I was thinking in my head, because I know there's -- I know you're thinking about a thousand things, right? You're focused. But did you think for a second, like, "Man, this is a special day. I have to win the gold in this." -It's kind of like your birthday, your first gold medal. You remember the day. So every year that August 3rd comes up, I think back, and it came up again while I was in Paris. And I was like, "Oh, my gosh. I need to make August 3rd continue to be a happy day in my mind." So that was very motivating to get the job done. -There's a moment that went viral from Paris when you waved to a young fan in the stands, and -- Do you know what I'm talking about? -Yes. Yeah, yeah. -She couldn't believe that you were waving at her. Watch this. -...pool after the 1,500, a little girl up in the stands getting a glimpse of Katie. And how excited is she? And wait for this one, folks. "She waved at me. She saw me. I don't know how to... I think I might faint." -I mean, is that -- That's what it's all about. That's what Katie Ledecky is all about. I mean, how does that feel to get that reaction from that little girl? -Oh, it's surreal to me. I mean, I was a 6-year-old just starting to swim and I looked up to these swimmers just like that. I mean, and to now be in this position where I can make that impact just with a wave, that hasn't sunk in to me. So, I'm proud that I, you know, can represent Team USA every time I get up on the blocks, and maybe someday, one of those young girls in the crowd will be out there breaking my records. -Oh, come on. That was so cool of you to do that. You were saying you were 6 years old when you started swimming? -Yes. Yeah. -Now, when you're 6 years old, you don't think about the Olympics. You think about going to pool parties. -No, no. -Right? I mean, when did you go like, "I think I might be really good at this"? -Well, I talk about it in my book. Just when I was 6, I did not imagine I would ever make it to the Olympics or anything close to that. But I just started qualifying for bigger and bigger meets, and all of a sudden, Olympic trials was the next meet to qualify for, and at that point, when I was 14 -- I guess I was still pretty young -- it started to come into the picture. And I made my first team when I was 15. [ Cheers and applause ] -"Just Add Water" is the name of the book, by the way. Fantastic. Name, the title -- "Just Add Water." That was -- When did you think about that? That's an "aha" moment right there. I was looking at some of the stories to talk about, and one that stuck in my head was that you met Michael Jordan when you were 2? -Mm-hmm. -And where was this? -Do you remember -- -It was at a Wizards game. He was just joining the ownership group, and my Uncle Jon was part of the ownership group of the Washington Capitals and Wizards. And so I was at the game, and he started playing peekaboo with me while I was eating my popcorn. And I was completely unfazed. And I actually knew that it was him. I just, I guess, was unimpressed. I don't know why, but I -- -You were -- Well, a kid with popcorn. Hello. -I just was more impressed by my popcorn. -Yeah. -Yeah. -But you have a video of this moment and you brought it here. -Yes. -We're going to show it tonight. This is Michael Jordan playing peekaboo with a 2-year-old Katie Ledecky. Check this out. There he is there. -Yep. Our friend Zach is sitting next to us. -Unfazed. -And you can even see, right there, I said, "Michael Jordan." -You said "Michael Jordan" at 2 years old? -He said, "Do you know who that is?" I said, "Michael Jordan." -It's a great read, and you got to check this book out. I have to ask you, because everyone's probably asking you, L.A. -- the Olympics are coming home to the United States. You have so many fans here. Could we maybe see Katie Ledecky competing in one more Olympics? -Maybe. I hope so. [ Cheers and applause ] -We would be honored to root for you. Katie Ledecky, everyone. "Just Add Water" is available now. We'll be right back with more "Tonight Show." Stick around, everybody. Come on back.