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Katie Grimes Is Making History—And Money—at the Paris Olympics

By Levi Leidy,

5 hours ago

Katie Grimes is an Olympic long-distance swimmer who made history as the youngest member of Team USA in Tokyo when she was just 15 years old. At 18, she took her first medal, earning a silver in the 400-meter individual medley at the 2024 Paris Games.

Grimes was actually the first American to make the team for the 2024 Olympics in any sport. She won four individual medals at the last two world championships, including bronze in a 10-kilometer open-water swim last July—securing her quota for the trip to Paris.

"Being 18 rather than 15 is a big difference in terms of just maturity,” she told Olympics.com . “When I was 15, I was starstruck by everything, but this time I have a little bit of a grasp of the scale of the Olympics and I think that's going to help a lot. I feel I'm much stronger and faster now and I'm excited to see what we can do for sure.”

In Paris, Grimes also competed in the 1,500-meter freestyle, placing 10th. She also will compete in the 10-kilometer open-water swim on Aug. 8.

Here’s a look at her swimming career thus far and what kind of endorsement money she pulls in as one of Team USA’s youngest swimmers.

How did Katie Grimes get her start?

Grimes grew up swimming with her two older brothers as a byproduct of living in the sweltering city of Las Vegas. Both of her brothers competed in the 2016 Olympic Team Trials, which motivated her to work hard and achieve her own Olympic dreams.

In 2021, Grimes went to her first trials and qualified for the 800-meter freestyle to go to the Tokyo Olympics. In an interview with Forbes , she admitted she wasn’t very prepared for her first Olympic Games.

“I’m definitely heading into it with a bit more notice, just because for Tokyo I qualified, then I left for training camp in Hawaii within the next like five days, so I really had zero preparation, and you know, like pre-knowledge of what I was going to be doing versus this time, I’ve known for the past year that I’ve already qualified for the Paris Olympics in open water,” she said.

How old was Katie Grimes at her first Olympics?

Grimes was 15 years old when she went to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which were held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). She was the youngest member of the entire U.S. Olympic team.

At the time, she didn’t qualify in the event in which she was most confident: the 400-meter individual medley. But she turned it around and placed second in the 800-meter freestyle finals to punch her ticket to the Games.

"I'm just a stubborn person by nature," she told E! News . "I was really upset, but I was not going to let that be my trip. I was so excited for this goal of mine, and I just wasn't going to let it slip away like that."

The first-place finisher of that qualifying race was none other than 10-time Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky .

“I told her after that one, ‘You’re the now,’” Ledecky said in an interview with Olympics.com .

What place did Katie Grimes get at the Olympics?

At Grimes’ first Olympic Games in Tokyo, she finished just shy of the podium in the 800-meter freestyle. She placed fourth with a time of 8:19.38 —a little over a second behind Italy’s Simona Quadarella .

What is Katie Grimes' net worth in 2024?

Olympians’ net worths are notoriously hard to pin down. They make most of their money from endorsement deals, with the financial details of those contracts not often revealed to the public. While Katie Grimes’ net worth hasn’t been officially reported, some sources estimate it at around $1 million .

Is Katie Grimes homeschooled?

Grimes just graduated high school and was homeschooled before that, likely to make time for the strict training regimen required to be an Olympic swimmer. She’s the youngest of seven kids , with two older brothers who are quite successful swimmers in their own right.

Does Katie Grimes have sponsorships?

Katie Grimes has at least a couple of sponsorship deals; one with Travel + Leisure Co. and another with Nevada State Bank (Grimes grew up in Las Vegas). She’s also an ambassador for nutrition brand P2Life and signed on with TYR Sport in 2023.

What does Katie Grimes make from endorsements?

Although her net worth has been estimated at around $1 million by some sources, it’s not known what Grimes makes from her endorsement deals. However, now that she has medaled at the Paris Games she can expect to sign larger, more lucrative deals, seeing as Olympic medalist Katie Ledecky has inked contracts with brands such as Adidas, Panasonic, Visa and more.

Does Katie Grimes get paid for the 2024 Olympics?

Olympic athletes aren’t expressly paid for being in the Olympics, but many of them can earn prize money if they medal. However, whether they earn prize money can depend on the sport they compete in and the country they represent.