Katie Ledecky, gold medalist and the youngest member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, thanked the Bethesda community for its support of her efforts in London.

"I could really feel it in London," Ledecky said of the support from her friends and fans in the swimming community, at her school, Stone Ridge, and across the Washington, D.C., region. 

Ledecky was honored last week by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD.

Ledecky, 15, swam to a stunning win in the women's 800 meter freestyle in London as her supporters cheered her on back home.

Soon, she will need to juggle her role as an Olympic swimmer with life as a regular high school sophomore.

How does she plan to do it? "I think I'm just going to get right back to my studies and to swimming, and continue working hard," Ledecky told Patch.

Though she's sometimes recognized when she's eating out at Bethesda restaurants, Ledecky said, "I'm just back to normal life."

A Friday ceremony is planned to honor Ledecky and Bethesda's two other Olympians, Scott Parsons and Julie Zetlin, at Bethesda Metro Center.