MoCo Residents Send Rio Olympics Good Wishes to Ledecky, Conger

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County fans can share their best wishes for local swimmers Katie Ledecky and Jack Conger as they compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics by signing giant flip-flops on display at the Rockville Town Square.

Opening ceremonies for the Rio games are Friday, Aug. 5, and the closing ceremony is will be Sunday, Aug. 21. NBC has the broadcast rights for the Olympics and you can find a sport-by-sport TV schedule online.

Ledecky, 19, a Bethesda resident, won the 200-meter, 400m and 800m freestyle at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to qualify for her second summer Olympics. She snagged a gold medal in the 800m free at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, followed by numerous records and titles in national and world championships since then.

Conger, 21, a Rockville native, swam as a youth for the Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club and won multiple championship last season at the University of Texas. Brazil will be his first Olympics, where he will compete in the men’s 800 meter freestyle relay, says the SwimSwam website.

Expectations are huge for Ledecky in Rio de Janeiro. She has the world’s fastest time in the 200, and will also swim in the 400 and 800 meter events individually, and take part in the 4x200 free relay.

Mega-Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte told USA Today that Ledecky will only swim faster in the Rio pool.

“I don’t think she’s really touched her potential in the water yet,” Lochte says. “I think she’s just going to get faster. I guarantee in Rio everyone’s mouths are going to drop during one of her races. She’s going to do a time where everyone’s going to be like, ‘What the heck just happened?’”

And Towson’s own swimmer Michael Phelps, no slouch in the pool with his record number of gold medals, says Ledecky reminds him of the hunger he had as a young competitor.

“She is improving so much and I think she is just trying to push that barrier, and I think it’s pretty exciting to watch her do that,” Phelps said. “She does the work, and it shows, and I think that is something that is awesome to see.”

Ledecky could contend for five gold medals in Rio, depending on the number of relay events she swims in, The New York Times predicts.” The first eight nights of NBC’s Olympic coverage will focus on swimming, with about 90 minutes of live coverage from the pool every evening, and Ledecky will play a starring role,” the Times says.

The pool standout, who will swim for Stanford University in the fall, has remained an amateur athlete, forgoing lucrative endorsements.

Sports marketing expert Matt Powell told the Times that Ledecky’s winning personality coupled with her record-setting performances in the pool, could be worth as much as $10 to $15 million per year if she decides to turn pro.

Rockville Town Square Spokesperson Sam Schmieder said the flip flops are a community effort to send good luck to Ledecky and Conger from their home town. She hopes to get the flip flops to the Olympians when they return from Rio. Residents can tweet #MoCo2Rio so that the swimmers can look at pictures from the road.

The flip flops are on display on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays starting at 11 a.m., now through Aug. 13.

»Photos: Photo of giant Katie Ledecky flip flop courtesy of Montgomery Community Media; Ledecky photo from Flickr Creative Commons; Jack Conger photo from USA Men's Swimming website.