AP
Katie Ledecky was getting her headset adjusted for a post-race, pool-deck interview with Universal Sports broadcasters when a voice that belonged to neither play-by-play man Ted Robinson nor analyst Rowdy Gaines filtered into her ears.
“Katie, can we have a match race?” a man’s voice said Friday night. That was Michael Phelps.
Ledecky’s eyes widened. She grinned.
“Sure,” she said, not missing a beat.
“We need to have a match race, since we tied this morning, I think a match race would be pretty fun,” Phelps said, referring to the 400m freestyle preliminary heats at the Pro Swim Series at Mesa, Ariz.