Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky recreated their famous 2006 photo

Fast forward 10 years and Ledecky, who then was an age-group swimmer looking up to the fastest man in the world, is now 19, a five-time gold medal victor, two-time American Olympic teammate with Phelps and just as fast and (if not equally, then nearly as) highly regarded.

A ten-year-old picture of the 19-year-old world record breaker getting the autograph of Michael Phelps which went viral last week amidst the young swimmers success in the pool, has been turned on it’s head.

That meeting was one of the things that inspired Ledecky to compete in swimming and pursue the dream of Olympic gold. She won five medals, four of them gold.

“We are in great shape, not only with Katie but with the team that we have now”, Phelps, who will retire after Rio, said Monday on NBC’s “Today”.

Phelps has been an inspiration to Ledecky since the beginning of her love for swimming.

Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky basked in the glow of an fantastic performance in Rio along with Phelps’ fiancee, Nicole Johnson, and their little boy, Boomer.

So, it was only fitting for Phelps to turn the tables on Ledecky and ask for HER autograph.

She quickly realized how old that made Phelps seem. “800 or above, she would whoop me and tear me to shreds”.