SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France – Katie Ledecky has known Swiss Albane Valenzuela since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The two first met when Valenzuela visited the swimmer in Brazil to tell her they would be classmates at Stanford University in the fall. They have been close friends ever since, even as Ledecky has risen to the top of her sport and Valenzuela has been traveling and competing full-time on the LPGA Tour, earning eight top-10 finishes since joining the organization in 2020.

So it was no surprise to see Valenzuela’s old schoolmate at Le Golf National on Friday. Well, it was for Valenzuela herself, who was overwhelmed that Ledecky had come to support her.

“One of our really close mutual friends is here today cheering her on,” Ledecky told NBC. “(We) surprised (Albane), so (it was) a special morning for the three of us.”

But Valenzuela wasn’t the only professional golfer the nine-time Olympic gold medalist met during the third round of the Olympic women’s golf competition. She took a photo with LPGA Hall of Fame member and International Golf Federation President Annika Sorenstam, a 72-time LPGA Tour winner who, like Ledecky, is widely considered the greatest golfer of all time in women’s swimming.

She even had the chance to meet Nelly Korda of the U.S. team, with whom she shares Czech roots and who watched Ledecky before the women’s golf event at the Paris Games.

Ledecky has now been able to compete in other Olympic sports after finishing her own competitions in Paris. She was courtside for the U.S. women’s basketball victory over Nigeria on Wednesday night and watched the U.S. men’s basketball victory over Serbia, 95-91, on Thursday night.

Watching other athletes compete is something Ledecky doesn’t usually get the chance to do during the Games. But since she has to stay in Paris until Sunday’s closing ceremony, where she will serve as one of the U.S. team’s flag bearers, the 27-year-old was more than happy to serve as a fan rather than an Olympian this week.

“This is my first Olympic Games where I can try other sports,” Ledecky said. “The last few days have been turbulent, but since I’m done competing, I don’t mind the lack of sleep and the running and traveling to all the events.”

Valenzuela shot rounds of 72-74 over the first two days at Le Golf National and will need to quickly shift up a gear if she wants to climb the leaderboard and be within striking distance for the final round on Saturday.

Valenzuela will have to work hard to reach this position, but nothing motivates more than the support of a nine-time Olympic champion.